Chapter Text
Before that fateful day, Monkey D. Luffy couldn’t imagine himself being anything other than a Marine.
If he’d gotten the chance to meet Red-Haired Shanks, or another good pirate captain, maybe things would have been different. But that’s not how things went in this world—rather, Garp had kept Luffy from being exposed to anything that would sway his thinking, convincing the boy to follow in his footsteps.
Yet destiny wasn’t going to let Garp interfere, for some fates simply cannot be changed no matter how hard one tries. So when, one day, Luffy was called upon by Commander Akainu for a very important secret mission—infiltrating the infamous Whitebeard pirates—the Fleet Admiral had no way of knowing that he’d knocked over the first in a very long line of dominoes.
(Garp, meanwhile, was killed in a battle between the Marines and the Beast Pirates—there was no way karma was going to let him go unpunished.)
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“So,” said the dark-haired young man in the cowboy hat, glaring at Luffy. “Pops tells us you left the Marines to join us.”
“Yes,” Luffy answered uncertainly, looking slightly off to the side.
“I’m not buying it.” The man folded his arms. “Who just leaves the Marines?”
“Ace, you know how horrible the Marines are,” the blonde teen standing nearby chimed in. “Is it that hard to believe he’d leave them and turn pirate?”
Luffy fought back a retort—if he defended the Marines, his cover would be blown, and he knew it.
“My gut’s telling me not to trust him,” Ace said bluntly. “And even if Pops is willing to give him a chance, I’m still going with my gut.”
With that, he turned and left the room, leaving Luffy alone with the blonde—Sabo, if Luffy remembered right.
“Sorry about Ace,” Sabo said. “He doesn’t get attached that easily, but he’s incredibly loyal to those he cares about. When Pops first found us and took us in, Ace took a while to warm up to him.” He gave a chuckle, like there was something funny. “My point is, he’ll accept you eventually.”
Luffy gave a half-hearted smile, trying to ignore the sudden feeling of guilt in his stomach.
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In the following weeks, Luffy got better acquainted with Whitebeard’s crew. Or as the old man liked to call them, his family. They certainly acted like a family—each of them knew the others had their back, and they showed each other such love and compassion. And even though he had been with them for the least amount of time, they still treated him like one of their own (Ace was still suspicious, but he seemed to be coming around).
Which is why the feeling of guilt only grew stronger every time he made a report over the portable Transponder Snail he’d been given. He told Akainu that he was working to gain enough of their trust that he’d be let in on the really important information, but that was just an excuse as to why he hadn’t given him anything useful.
Nearly a month after his ‘defection’, Luffy lay in his bunk, thoughts whirling in his head and guilt-induced nausea in his belly. Whitebeard’s family had shown him such kindness and love—the worst any of them had done to him was the occasional prank or playful smacking. Sabo had even talked to Ace and suggested they renew a vow they’d made when they were younger, and bring him into it, which was apparently a big deal. By contrast, life as a Marine had been miserable—day after day of following orders like a mindless drone, doing whatever you were told no matter how cruel or wrong it seemed. Luffy had considered himself fortunate that he had never served under one of the worse Marine captains like Axe-Hand Morgan, or worse, sent to work at Impel Down. There was no freedom in being a Marine, while being a pirate…
Being a pirate meant you were so much more free.
Was Grandpa lying to me all this time? Luffy thought to himself. He ran into pirates all the time, so he had to know they weren’t all bad, even though he’d always told me they were all thieves and murderers. Maybe that’s why he never allowed me to go anywhere near them—because he didn’t want me to see what they were really like. But by doing that…
A wetness in his eyes made him sit up, allowing tears to slowly start rolling down his cheeks.
Why would you make me suffer, Grandpa? How could you rob me of a chance to be happy?
In that moment, Luffy made a choice.
******************
“Pops! Thank God!”
“What’s going on up here?” Whitebeard demanded, looking at the scene before him—Luffy clutching a small box (which the captain recognized as having been taken from the Marines not too long ago), Teach holding a blade to Thatch’s throat, and Sabo looking back and forth, unsure of what to do.
“I should think that’s obvious,” Teach said. “Either the little traitor gives me the Devil Fruit, or Thatch gets the blade. And I don’t think he’s the type to let one of your sons die, even if he is a Marine.”
“You’re hardly one to talk about being a traitor,” Thatch spat. “I don’t think you were ever loyal to Pops.”
“Oh, you’re defending him now?” laughed Teach. “After he”—here, he motioned toward Luffy with his head—“was sent to spy on us? When he never left the Marines at all?”
“Is it true, Luffy?” Whitebeard asked, looking at the boy. “Are you still a Marine?”
Slowly, Luffy raised his head.
“Not anymore.”
“Damn right he’s not,” Ace said as he emerged onto the deck. “I heard him tell Akainu that he was done with the Marines and that he was never going back.” A grin flashed onto his face. “Plus, when the bastard started threatening him, Luffy told him to go screw himself.”
Whitebeard threw back his head and laughed. “Boy’s got guts!”
“And they’ll be all over the deck if he doesn’t give me the Devil Fruit,” Teach growled.
Luffy clutched the box tightly, though the lid had already flipped open to reveal the contents—a purple melon-like fruit with swirls all over.
“Thought you were looking for the Dark-Dark Fruit,” Thatch said. “Not whichever one that is.”
“I’ll figure out what to do with it later,” Teach answered simply. “Now, one last time, boy. Give. Me. That. Fruit.”
With defiance burning in his eyes, Luffy glared at Teach as he steeled himself.
“No.”
Before anyone could make a move, he pulled the fruit out of the box and, steeling himself, bit into it. It was extremely unpleasant—like rubber that had been laying in the sun for too long—but one bite was all it took to render it useless to anyone else, and he was NOT going to let it end up in the wrong hands. Teach’s expression turned to horror as Luffy swallowed.
“What have you done, boy?!?”
He lunged at Luffy, but Luffy ducked, dropping the box and the rest of the fruit, the latter of which rolled away (and eventually ended up in the sea). Thatch seized the opportunity to grab Teach, only to be thrown straight over the side of the ship. As Ace let out an angry yell of rage and started brawling with Teach, Luffy ran over to the edge and looked down to see Thatch hanging on to the anchor.
“Thatch, hold on!”
“I can’t…do it…for much longer…”
No sooner had the words left Thatch’s lips than he lost his grip on the anchor. Before he could hit the water, however, he felt something grab his wrist. He looked up to see Luffy’s arm had almost magically stretched, enabling the now former Marine to snag him. A look of surprise crossed both of their faces before Luffy reached out with his other arm, letting it stretch down to grab Thatch’s other hand.
“Got you!”
With a little help from Sabo, who’d finally snapped out of his shock, Thatch was pulled back onto the ship. By that time, Ace and Whitebeard had disarmed Teach, and within minutes, the traitor had been dragged off to the brig.
“Are you boys alright?” Whitebeard asked.
“I’m OK,” Thatch reassured him. “Thanks to Luffy.”
“See, Ace?” Sabo chuckled. “I told you he just needed a little time.”
“We need sake,” Ace agreed. “And three cups. He’s our brother now, so we’re gonna renew our vow and make it official.”
Remembering how Sabo had explained about his and Ace’s vow of brotherhood, Luffy felt a warmth in his chest and tears of happiness in his eyes.
“I guess I really am family now.”