Welcome, everyone, to a tangent that spun into this! So, one day, I was going through my PMs when one FeralG3 offered me a prompt: What if a stronger Luffy was trained by Dragon? And that stuck in my brain and eventually led to this! So, let's really cut the brakes on the crazy train and just go nuts! Let's give Luffy ALL the goodies! And let's start with a properly OP Devil Fruit, also suggested by FeralG3, to kick things off!
Chapter 1: Birth of a King! Monkey D. Luffy and Red-Haired Shanks!
As he counted the seconds in his head, Dragon could feel the sweat on his brow. Every breath he took tried and failed to calm his hammering heart. The screams of pain and doctors keeping constant attention to his patient briefly made him forget. The bounty on his head, the countless missions he endured, the monolith he was trying to topple. All of these faded from his mind as he prayed that this one day went well.
The door to the medical bay then opened, the top medic of the Revolutionary Army inviting him inside. Monkey D. Dragon, the world's most wanted criminal, treaded inside as though every step would be his last. Until he spotted Laura, the only woman to ever capture his heart.
"It's a boy," she said, her skin pallid and her voice exhausted. Fourteen hours of labor and pushing would do that to anyone, Dragon guessed.
His attention was then drawn to the screaming newborn in her arms, flailing his arms about as he belted at the top of his lungs. The revolutionary gulped as he was handed his son.
"Have you thought of a name?"
"Luffy. I don't know why, but it just feels right."
"Luffy…" Dragon couldn't believe it, he was a father now. Of course, that meant that Luffy would be hounded by the World Government the same way they sought the mother of Roger's child.
But Laura, the ebony-haired beauty that saw Dragon not as a blasphemous criminal but as a man like any other, didn't care. She didn't care if being routinely ill since she was eight meant carrying a child to term meant she wouldn't live long. She had the same rebellious spirit as him, just no means to fight with it.
Laura's bag-filled eyes gazed at her only son with absolute pride and the love only a mother could give. "Luffy, don't let anyone decide your life for you. As long as you live happily, I'll be satisfied…"
She then had to be wheeled away thanks to a bloody coughing fit, Dragon handing off Luffy to the nurses to clean him off. The world's most wanted man curled his hands and swore to obey his true love's words. All the Marines in the world wouldn't be able to break him, and he would make damn sure that Luffy would live his own life.
As he traveled from that remote bunker in the East Blue back to the base in Baltigo, Luffy would be shipped off to a safe village. He knew it was only a matter of time before Garp got involved, the least he could do was make sure the stubborn sailor didn't draft Luffy literally days after being born. Once he was back at his post, he grieved Laura's passing soon after and took the first of countless longing looks east.
The only tavern in Foosha Village was livelier than it had ever been. Once the Red-Haired Pirates had sailed in to use the place as their personal vacation spot away from the Grand Line, the townspeople were very grateful they were only a threat to the local booze supply and even then they paid for every mug.
And among the raucous buccaneers was a seven-year-old boy sitting at bar next to the fearsome Red-Haired Shanks himself. The black-haired young lad was bouncing in his seat, begging to the infamous pirate to let him join him out on the open sea.
Shanks only laughed, smacking his flagon on the bartop. "You, as a pirate?! Thanks for the joke, squirt!"
"Hey, I'm no squirt!" Luffy argued, "I can punch good, I can swim and I'm totally fearless!"
"Luffy, sticking a knife under your eye isn't bravery, it's being stupid."
"SHUT IT!" His screech only made the pirates laugh harder, although the slight blush on his cheeks told them even Luffy knew that was a mistake. As he pouted, Shanks was nice enough to hand him a glass of juice as an apology.
"Wow, thanks!" Luffy took a swig only for Shanks to burst into laughter. "Hey, what's so funny?!"
"Some pirate you are, drinking juice! Want some ginger tea next?"
"HEY, YOU TRICKED ME!"
As the swashbucklers went back to laughing and chugging down ale, Luffy was fuming. Sure, he was young but he wasn't helpless! His grandpa had been teaching to fight for a whole year now. Even if he would never be a Marine, he knew he could be something more than just a kid in this little village. He just needed a chance!
And that was when the young boy spotted an open treasure chest behind the bar. Inside was not gold or jewels but a single, huge fruit. It looked like an oversized blue papaya, the rind covered in black swirls and a brown stem shaped like a crescent moon. Luffy didn't know what it was or where it came from, but he was eating it. It had to be super important to be in a chest, after all.
"This'll teach you not to mess with me, Shanks!" He giggled to himself before pulling the fruit out of the box and chomping down. Luffy then had to bite his own tongue to keep his mouth shut as his cheeks turned green with disgust. Whatever this fruit was, it tasted like sunbaked garbage mixed with year-old latrine water!
Right as Luffy was about to take another bite, the tavern doors burst open and the party stopped. The only one who paid no mind to the horde of bandits crowding the entrance was Shanks, still wholly focused on his meal.
"Well, what do we have here?" asked the leader of this bunch, scanning the watering hole with a critical eye. Everything from his greasy black hair, beer-stained clothing and sword openly hanging from his belt reeked of him being a lowlife criminal who didn't care.
"Um, can I help you, sir?" Makino, the green-haired young lady behind the counter with a smile that belied her anxiety, said.
The scoundrel strolled up to the bar right next to Shanks, ignoring him entirely as he slammed his hand down. "My men and I are thirsty after hiking down here. We'll take ten barrels of ale, on the double."
Makino tilted her head just so, trying to look apologetic. "I'm quite sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I'm all out of stock."
"Oh yeah?" the bandit waved his hand around, "Are these boys all drinking water?"
"Heh, sorry about that," Shanks said, finally looking up with a bottle of wine in his hand, "My crew and I really drank the place dry. But we haven't touched this one yet, so here. Free of charge!"
The bandit promptly picked up the bottle and smashed it over Shanks's head, making Makino and Luffy freeze in shock.
"You think one pissing bottle will make it up to me? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" He then proceeded to pull out a rolled-up paper from his pants pocket. The poster unfurled to reveal the man's own sneering mug photographed over"Higuma 'the Bear' – 8,000,000."
"You see this? I'm a wanted criminal with a price on my head! Next time I walk into the building, you better do yourself a favor and show me the proper respect!" Higuma then noticed that Shanks wasn't paying him any mind, instead trying to sop up all of the spilled liquor and glass shards with the napkins he had on hand.
"Still don't get it, huh?" Higuma lashed his sword over the bar, spilling several plates of food on top of Shanks. The bandits outside just laughed as if this was a major accomplishment before Higuma strolled back out of the bar to join them.
Luffy's eyes were still glued to where the bandit was standing, completely ignoring how Shanks was laughing the whole thing off and all of the Red-Hair Pirates treated the whole thing as light entertainment. He could feel his anger boiling more and more by the second.
"Um, Shanks? Something's wrong with the kid…?"
"Hm? Luffy?" The pirate looked up to see his biggest fan gritting his teeth hard enough they could make sparks.
"Luffy, calm down, it's no real trouble!" Makino insisted, "They didn't break anything, no one is hurt, it'll all be-!"
In the next three seconds, Luffy bolted out the door and was glaring down the street at Higuma's back. His anger doubled at seeing him move through his hometown as if he didn't just act like a total douchebag to a man far out of his weight class.
"HEY, JERKFACE! BACK HERE!"
"Hm?" The bandit turned and saw Luffy marching up to meet him, making him chuckle, "You got a problem with me, kid? Or did I end up hurting your mommy and daddy?"
"I don't have any parents, but I have a problem with you, asshole!"
The bandits all chuckled as Luffy pointed up at their boss. "Shanks tried to be nice when he gave you that bottle, but you had to be an ass for no reason! And you messed up Makino's bar! Apologize to both of them!"
Higuma only laughed. "Oh, is that all? You expect me to listen to a loudmouthed brat like you?"
"Yeah! Apologize, or else!"
Now the bandits were outright laughing at the small child trying to bully them. Higuma's grin only grew bigger as he leaned down to poke Luffy's forehead. "Listen, squirt, you're better off staying away from cowardly pirates like them. When you have to get around on a boat to avoid the Marines, that's when you know you have no guts."
"GRRRRRR! Shanks is a hundred times better than you'll ever be! And you think having a bounty makes you so great?! It just means I'll be rich once I beat you!"
"You beat me?! How the hell do you plan to do tha-!"
Luffy's fist crashed into Higuma's chin, silencing him and the rest of the mountain bandits' jeering. Far behind him. Shanks was amazed. Luffy moved so fast the kid was a blur. And his uppercut sent Higuma clean off his feet and flying back several feet.
"WHOA! Who knew the kid had it in him?!" one of Shanks's men gawked only for the captain to only then ask where their treasure was. Sure enough, Benn Beckham came out with an empty box and a half-eaten blue fruit.
"Well, what do we do now?"
"First of all is making sure Luffy is fine," Shanks ordered, "There are always more Devil Fruits out there. He has this under control now, but we need to be ready in case those bandits try something."
The Red-Haired Pirates all nodded as they watched Higuma slowly get back to his feet. Luffy was still so angry that he didn't notice how he actually lived up to his boast about punching like a pistol.
"Boss, are you okay?!"
"Of course I am!" Higuma lied, spitting out a mouthful of blood and feeling his teeth still rattling, "Deal with this brat!"
Several of the goons dressed in ragged shirts and turbans ganged up on the young boy, Luffy just gritting his teeth as he raised his fists. Two bandits tried to rush him from the sides but he leapt up with a split kick that sent them both sprawling. One drew his sword only for Luffy to dodge every single swing before backhanding the blade out of his grip and then palming him in the kneecap hard enough to fracture the bone.
"Holy cow, he's mopping the floor with them!" Makino blurted out as they all watched. Luffy was moving like an expert martial artist, every move controlled and fluid to move into the next. And judging from how the bandits crumpled after a single hit or were flung feet away, he was also packing some massive power into every strike.
"Alright, that's it!" one of them yelled, "Let's see you block bullets, punk!"
"LUFFY!" Shanks and his crew all ran ahead as one of the ruffians pulled out a pistol only for Luffy to answer by summoning something from a flash of light into his hands. The bangs of gunfire rang through the village only for none of the bullets to hit Luffy.
"WHAT?!" Higuma yelled, "That's impossible!"
"You stupid jerks, bringing a gun to a fistfight!" the kid growled, still unconsciously spinning the weapon he magicked into his hands. Once he finally stopped, everyone could see it was a trident of sorts. A two-foot long trident with a black metal handle ending in a three-pronged golden blade that seemed the perfect size for a child. And just as easily as Luffy summoned it, it disappeared in a flash of light so his hands were empty again.
The biggest bandit of the bunch managed to sneak up behind Luffy and wrap him in a crushing bear hug, leaving only his head and shoulders exposed. "HEY! Let go of me!"
"Hahaha! Not so tough now, huh?! I won't let go 'till I break your bones! That'll teach you to mess with us!"
Luffy's anger flared up again as he tried to free himself. He couldn't even move his arms or legs, all he could manage was gnashing his teeth. As the rest of the bandit crew started laughing at him, Luffy felt something burning in both of his shoulders.
A second set of arms burst forth, right on top of his regular ones and above the bandit's crushing grip. As the whole group stopped in shock, Luffy used his new limbs to punch the meathead restraining him on both sides of the mouth. While a light blow, it was enough to surprise him into freeing Luffy. And now that he was released, the enraged youngling turned and unleashed a four-armed flurry of punches that made the bandit cough up blood and stumble around trying to run away.
"The fucking shit! What is this kid?!"
"Growing arms?! Weapons from nowhere?! We can't handle this!"
"Boss, what do we do?! He's gonna clobber us!"
"You realize when you're beat and stand down, that's what."
Luffy finally gave the bandit he was beating to death mercy as Shanks and his entire crew now stood behind him, fully prepared to fight. The captain himself gave the startled Higuma a level glare from under the brim of his straw hat. "You call us cowards, but you send your men to attack a kid? Who's the coward now?"
"Huh, Shanks? When he insulted you, you didn't do anything!" Luffy yelled.
"Exactly, Luffy. This guy can mess with me all he wants and I'll just brush him off. But the second he hurt my friend…"
A wave of force suddenly rippled out, making all of Higuma's men faint while the "feared criminal" broke into a cold sweat as he fell onto his knees.
"…That's when you fight. That's what it means to be a pirate. Throwing your weight around for no reason just makes you a jerk."
As the boy sank in these wise words, no one noticed Higuma pulling something from his pocket. He may have been a wanted man with a body count, but he wasn't an idiot (as far as he was concerned.) A sudden plume of smoke consumed the greasy gangster, covering his escape.
"What the, a smoke bomb?! What kind of coward is he?!" Luffy yelled only for Shanks to grab him by the back of his shirt.
"Luffy, let it go. He's gone, he can't hurt anyone here, you're all good-!"
That was then they noticed something flying right at them. A bottle of liquor of some kind with a flaming cloth shoved into the top. And rather than hitting any of them, it was aimed above them all at Makino's bar.
"Everyone, duck!" A shaggy-haired man with the name "Yasopp" written on the cloth surrounding his forehead yelled. He aimed the rifle slung across his back and fired the makeshift flame grenade out of the air, booze now dripping to the ground while the cloth "fuse" was stomped out.
"Oh, thank you," Makino sighed, "If that had hit my tavern, the whole place would have gone up!"
"Don't mention it!" the marksman chuckled, "Man, what a sore loser!"
"No kidding," Shanks nodded, "Alright then, I think this calls for a-!"
He then noticed Luffy literally shaking with fury in his grip. "Hey, Luffy, come on, it's all right now…"
"That fucking jerk… Almost burned down Makino's bar… I'm gonna-!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Shanks then grabbed Luffy by the ankle and hoisted him into the air, "Luffy, we need to figure out this Devil Fruit of yours before-!"
The burning sensation Luffy felt earlier came back with a vengeance, now consuming his whole body. His bones and muscles groaned and stretched as he grew an extra foot, a light layer of brawn now covering his small body. A third set of arms emerged from his torso, now making for six in total. And most surprisingly of all, his skin turned a light, periwinkle blue with a third eye opening on his forehead.
"WHAT THE?!" Shanks yelled, distracted just enough for Luffy to swing out of his grip. The second he touched the ground, Luffy took off like a rocket with every footfall making faint tremors in the Earth.
"What in the world happened to him?!" Makino gawked, "I know he's got a temper but where are all these powers coming from?!"
"It's because of this," A tall man with tied-back black hair and a cigarette dangling from his mouth held up the empty treasure chest, "Luffy ate a Devil Fruit, and one so powerful that we found it guarded by the World Government's black-ops branch."
"Wait, the legends are true?! So, that means Luffy can't swim!"
"Correct. But that's the least of his problems now. Captain?"
"Yeah, Benn, come on. We need to make sure he doesn't do something he'll regret!"
Meanwhile, Higuma was smirking up a storm as he bolted away from Foosha Village. Sure, his men were all beaten and he got shown up by a random kid but that was today. He'd wait for his chance, gather his men and then plunder the whole village as payback. That would teach that brat for crossing him! And that tavern girl for not having the booze he wanted!
Truly, Higuma has a dizzying intellect. So much so that he didn't notice the growing tremors approaching him until they were ringing in his ears. He turned around just in time to see a six-armed, well-toned, blue-skinned child roaring at him. Higuma screamed in panic just as three right arms crashed into his back, stopping him dead as crippling pain overwhelmed his body and he crashed into the ground hard enough that he made a trough six inches deep with his face.
Luffy panted, finally getting the anger out of his system. This jerk had mocked Shanks, treated Makino like dirt, attacked him, and treated his own men like disposable tools. The only thing he hadn't done to push Luffy's buttons was bug him to join the Marines like his grandpa. Now that this clod wasn't going anywhere, he'd make absolutely sure he'd never bother his town ever again…
"LUFFY!"
The boy turned to see Shanks running up with Benn Beckham, Yasopp and Lucky Roux still chomping on his meat, all running up to him. The captain raised his hands, showing he had nothing to hide.
"Luffy, that's enough. This guy is taken care of, he can't hurt you anymore!"
That finally made the boy look down. The bandit's face was a mess of bruises and scratches with several teeth missing from his gaping jaws. He was completely still save for ragged, wheezing breaths. Benn Beckham then checked and said the man's lower spine was destroyed, meaning he'll be paralyzed from the waist down for life.
"Luffy, I understand he tried to hurt something precious to you," Shanks continued, kneeling down to look the boy in the eye, "And you fought to protect Makino and me, which was the right thing to do. True, this bastard is a wanted killer who may deserve death, but that's not always the right call."
"R-Really?"
"Yes, and remember that bounty he has? The World Government takes thirty percent of it away if you bring them in dead. Just keep that in mind, okay?"
All of that finally made Luffy relax. Shanks was right, this clown wouldn't be hurting him or anyone in town now. Heck, now he's easy pickings to hand into the Marines. He gave a small nod to Shanks as his friend placed a gentle hand on his shoulders.
"Now, Luffy, can I ask you something?"
"Sure?"
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING EATING A DEVIL FRUIT, YOU IDIOT?!"
"Huh, what are you talking about?" Two of Luffy's left arms scratched his head, and that made him finally realize his own transformation. "Holy cow, I'm blue!"
"YOU JUST NOTICED THIS NOW?!"
While Roux and Yasopp laughed their heads off, Benn just shook his head. They never did get the official name of that Devil Fruit, but it obviously had to be a Zoan given how Luffy transformed like this. And whatever it was, it had to be a Mythical Zoan given how obscenely powerful it made even a young kid.
But those were all questions that could wait. Luffy changed back to normal and walked back to town with Shanks who was now carrying Higuma on his back. The people of Foosha Village were relieved that such a notorious criminal would never be bothering them again. The mayor had already reported the infamous bandit's capture and now a bunch of the villagers would hand him over to the Marines stationed outside of Goa Kingdom to collect the eight million beris he was worth. Money that could go into covering the damage he made to Makino's bar, and to building new windmills that produce the town's chief export of flour and ground spices.
But amongst all the revelry and excitement, there was one person who headed inside his house. He reviewed the photos he took on his hidden Cameko snail. One showed Luffy nailing Higuma with the uppercut, another showed him with four arms, and the last showed his blue super form breaking away from Shanks.
He tripled checked that his White Transponder Snail was on to block any eavesdroppers before dialing the number. A gruff voice answered immediately answered on the fourth ring, "You're report isn't for another week and a half. This better be good."
"It is, sir. It's about your son. He's eaten a Devil Fruit."
"Hm? How did that happen?"
"Apparently he was hanging around Red-Haired Shanks and his crew when he spotted one left unattended that they had hauled into the bar."
"Hahahaha, yes, that does sound like my son. Any ideas on this fruit?"
"Not quite, sir, but it's definitely a Mythical Zoan of some variety. I have photographs you can cross-reference on your end, they'll be transmitted shortly."
"Good to know. Slip Shanks a thank-you note from a 'certain friend' he used to go drinking with."
"Understood, sir. Over and out."
The revolutionary agent began sending the pictures through before chuckling to himself. To think that he'd be assigned to personally watch over the boss's kid. He was just grateful that he'd been stationed elsewhere during Garp's last visit. The Hero of the Marines may have been an old man with the same situational awareness as Luffy but it didn't make being anywhere in the vicinity of him any less stressful.
Although, if this Devil Fruit could turn an ordinary kid into a fighting machine capable of soloing an entire bandit horde, who knew what Luffy would be like when he was older? Dragon would just have to wait and see like everyone else.
So, anyone want to guess the Devil Fruit? Next time, we get Luffy's grandfather and brothers involved!
Thank you all so much for reading! Feel free to leave a review along with any questions or comments.