Chapter Text
“Namiiiiii, are we there yet?”
A young voice rang across the deck, as impatient as it was whiny. If anyone unfamiliar with the strongest supernova of the generation heard this, they would have done a double take seeing a man with a billion-berry bounty whine like a child. As it was, Straw Hat Luffy was as petulant as he was powerful
“Not yet Luffy, we still have a day before we reach Sabaody. Now don’t ask again or I’m raising your debt by another million!” His navigator’s voice shot back firm, something that would have made most pirates worried for her head.
Luckily for Nami, her captain was no evil dictator and simply slumped back against the railing.
“I want to see if Traffy and Jaggy know what happened though…” He murmured against his crossed arms. If you were to tell anyone who wasn’t already aware that he was an Emperor, they would not have believed you. Luffy had the body and appearance of a young boy, but his eyes spoke volumes of the man he had been, before he had returned to a past he thought was already set in stone.
Waking up on Dawn Island when he should’ve been on Wano was extremely worrying to say the least.
Before coming to his senses, Luffy had scared the life out of Dadan by tearing down the mountain like a bat out of hell, woke up half of Windmill Village, and had fallen into the ocean by the docks out of sheer panic.
Makino had fussed over him once he was pulled out of the water, terrified that he had been hurt. Sitting in Party’s Bar, Luffy was finally shaken out of his fear that history had repeated itself. Something else altogether had happened. He was wearing the same clothes he left Dawn with. While Makino was worried for him, she didn’t seem surprised to see him. His body had lost the muscle mass he’d gained training on Rusukaina. The burn scar that perpetually reminded him of Marineford was gone. It was almost like he had gone back in time.
Despite the opportunity most would kill for, Luffy mostly felt boredom. After repeating a journey he’d already taken, he wanted something new to do. Don’t get him wrong, he was grateful and planned to take every opportunity to fix what went wrong before. He could get his crew, his family, far easier than last time. He could save Ace.
Luffy decided that he would find his crew again and make a better future than the one he came from. After that he would fulfill his dream like he always planned, only it wouldn’t take quite so long this time.
The boy who would become the Pirate King sailed off the same as he did before. He didn’t even bother punching the sea king that nearly killed him a decade ago. A burst of conquerors haki was enough to send it reeling back into the depths. The bandits and village folk looked on in awe as even the lightest feeling of the wave sent them stepping back.
Once more, Monkey D. Luffy had set sail, and the world would forever feel the effects.
Every enemy Luffy faced in the East Blue was laughable in comparison to his current strength, even accounting for the weakness of his younger body. Fighting through them would be a breeze. Even still, Luffy had no more navigational skills than he started with, and the ocean was still a cruel mistress. The straw hatted teen soon found himself being sucked back into the same whirlpool that ruined his first vessel years ago.
Forced to take refuge in the same barrel that started his journey, Monkey D. Luffy found himself drifting aimlessly in the ocean, waiting until he was hauled on board by Alvida’s crew.
Seeing Koby again after so many years was a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, he was wimpier than he had been in the years since he met Garp. Luffy laughed to himself, excited for the day he became strong enough to fight again. Of course, his comparative feebleness made Luffy even happier to get his whining over with.
Steamrolling through Alvida and her crew to reach Shells Town, Luffy was ecstatic to see a familiar body bound in the same spot from years ago. Luffy waited as Zoro looked up at him, a raw, menacing grin on his face.
“Good to see you again, Captain.”
Though Luffy had faith his crew came back with him, that confirmation lifted a weight off his chest. He hadn’t lost his crew the same way he had on Sabaody. He could only repay Zoro’s smile with a laugh, a laugh that promised that not even time itself could separate the Straw Hat Pirates forever.
Defeating Captain Morgan took a matter of seconds, terrifying Koby and the marines alike, though they were still happy to be free of Morgan’s tyranny. His son (Hippo? Helpo? Something like that) only let out a squeak of terror before fainting in a rather undignified way. Zoro took great pleasure out of his fear and was vindictive in his joy from the knowledge he would suffer Garp’s training.
While the Marines were celebrating, Luffy took the opportunity to score a free meal before leaving with Zoro to find Nami. Returning to the restaurant where Zoro first confronted Helmeppo, Rika and her mother were practically groveling to thank Zoro who brushed them off. He only thanked them for the booze and told Rika the food she has delivered was delicious.
Luffy and Zoro knew it was only a matter of time before the local Marine’s goodwill ran out. After thanking Rika and her mother once more for the food, they made their way to the beat-up ship Luffy stole from Alvida. As they left Shells Town, Luffy called out to Koby waving them off from shore.
“Koby! When you see my gramps tell him that you, Hippo, and him won’t be able to capture us!”
Koby was incredibly confused. Why would he know Luffy’s grandfather? And who was Hippo?
Zoro smirked at his floundering expression and decided to take mercy on him. “He’s talking about that brat who stole my swords. Don’t worry, Luffy’s gramps will beat you two into shape. What else would you expect from Garp?”
The reaction was immediate; a loud, disbelieving cacophony of shouts rang from the shore. Every marine in the East Blue knew of the beloved Hero of the Marines. Knowing his grandson became a pirate and later saved the town by beating up a marine captain was mind boggling. In retrospect, it made sense, explaining his strength in their minds. Of course a monster like Garp the Fist would have an equally insane grandson.
They chose not to think about the fact that Monkey D. Garp must have a child running around somewhere. The less they knew, the better.
(Somewhere on Baltigo, Dragon the Revolutionary sneezed.)
With that, the pair set off, the two first members of the Straw Hat pirates went to find the third member and their only hope to navigate to the rest of the crew.
Orange Town felt so much smaller this time.
By some miracle or divine intervention, Zoro and Luffy were able to navigate their way to the place where they had met Nami the first time.
Standing by the shore waiting was the navigator of the Straw Hat pirates in all her glory. Her yell could be heard long before the two had docked.
“Took you long enough!”
Her cry caused Luffy to erupt into laughter. Zoro yelled back a quick “Impatient witch!” as a response, but his voice held no bite. His joy in finding another crew member wasn’t as loud as Luffy, but it was just as evident.
Reaching the dock, Luffy catapulted himself at his navigator, leaving Zoro to tie off the boat.
“Dumbass! Be careful before you do that!” Nami reprimanded her captain. Her expression softened quickly, “I missed you too, Captain.”
Having made sure the stolen vessel wouldn’t float away, Zoro had begun to walk towards the two of them. However, right before he reached them, a voice rang out from a behind nearby building.
“There she is! She’s the one who stole from the captain. We’re gonna teach her not to mess with the Buggy Pirates!” The source of the noise was a burly man who, by his own words, was part of the Buggy Pirates. He was followed another goon, both them being armed with poor quality swords. Zoro looked the intruders up and down before turning to Nami and giving her a deadpan stare.
“You got caught by these guys?” His disbelief was evident. “Aren’t you supposed to be the ‘Master Thief’ of our crew?”
“I was distracted. Mention it again and your debt doubles.”
Zoro groaned and raised his arms in surrender. The grunts were spitting mad at the interruption, before they realized exactly who they were looking at.
“Pirate Hunter Zoro,” the lead stammered out. “Have you come to take out our captain?”
“I couldn’t really care less who your captain is, we’re just here to pick up our navigator.”
This dumbfounded the two assailants, their confusion written all over their faces. The idea that Pirate Hunter Zoro had founded a crew of his own, and that he would completely disregard their captain were both equally ludicrous.
“Shishishishi! You’re funny!” Luffy exclaimed. “But we don’t have to much time to talk, we’re gonna help Chouchou, then we’re gonna find the rest of my crew. See ya!”
The teen’s words set off a wave of disbelief. The henchmen had trouble believing that not only was Roronoa Zoro following someone else, he was following a string bean of a teen who laughed at (in their minds) roughened pirates and their powerful leader.
Before they could release their fury on the young teen, his eyes hardened. For a second. For a fraction of a second, the only thing they felt was fear. A wave of utter concentrated power had been released from the boy. The will of a conqueror. The two unfortunate targets did not understand this though. They had already been knocked unconscious by a power they couldn’t comprehend.
Luffy simply walked past them, disregarding their limp bodies.
“I hate being weaker,” he muttered. “At least I can still concentrate my conqueror’s haki, Old Man Rayleigh would kill me otherwise.”
“Come on Captain, I have the stash of treasure next to the dog’s building from last time.” Nami nudged her captain forward.
Walking through the deserted Orange Town brought back many memories to the trio. It was their first fight as a crew, even if Nami hadn’t accepted it at the time. The buildings looked almost the same as last time, the same wear and tear from Buggy’s occupation visible throughout the town. It still troubled Nami seeing a place treated the same as Cocoyashi, but she was thankful conditions weren’t as bad as some places the Straw Hats Liberated on the Grand Line. The fact such an out-of-the-way town was the first meeting of two future Yonko was almost ironic.
Seeing Chouchou holding vigil in front of home, Luffy ran over to him.
“Hey! Chouchou! We’re gonna save your home again!” His shouts overpowered the already loud sound of his sandals against the road.
The poor subject of Luffy’s attention had not met him in this timeline, and in response to a rubber lunatic barreling towards him did what any sane dog would do. He jumped and bit the boy with the straw hat square on the face.
Out of instinct, Luffy smacked Chouchou off, though with less force than he had on any of his previous opponents. The small dog went rolling across the ground before thudding into the wall of his home.
Luffy winced a little. “Sorry Chouchou, but I gotta go kick the clown’s ass for you again. See ya!”
With that, the three Straw Hats made their way to the circus tent of one Buggy the Clown.
It was just as tacky as the three remembered. Only this time, Zoro hadn’t gotten lost, Luffy wasn’t bound by Nami, and Buggy’s angry shouts could be heard from far outside his home base.
“Where is she! Does she think that she can just steal from the Great Pirate Buggy and Live? Find her now!” His furious screaming echoed throughout the nearby alleys.
“We’re looking for her Boss, we swear,” one underling was brave enough to speak up. “We’ll capture her and bring her to you as soon one of us knows where she is.”
“What did you say about my nose?!”
Nami and Zoro gave each other a deadpan look at the exchange. Standing near the open entrance, the three pirates began to walk forward.
“The next one of you to say something about my nose will get feel the wrath of my Buggy Ball! Now find that-” Buggy paused his tirade when he saw the newcomers. “Now who are you to intrude on the great Buggy? Have you come to pledge your loyalty to my crew?”
Buggy turned towards the new faces to get a closer look. “Wait a minute, you’re the girl who stole from us! And you’re Pirate Hunter Zoro! And are you wearing that damn hat!” Buggy shrieked in alarm.
“Man I forgot how annoying he was,” Zoro’s drawl cut through the air sharper than his swords.
“Yeah. I can’t believe he was also trained by Old Man Rayleigh,” Luffy replied. “It’s hard to see that he was with Shanks on the Pirate King’s crew.”
Buggy froze at these words, all previous gripes forgotten. He had avoided being associated with his past crew for a reason. If the world knew of a member of the Pirate King’s crew as weak as him existed, it would be open season.
“What are you talking about?! Did that red-haired loudmouth bastard tell you? Whatever it was he was lying! He ruined my life once, I won’t let him do it again!” Buggy’s protests grew increasingly more frantic. He cursed himself for not realizing the trouble he was in sooner. He felt a small burst of haki from somewhere on the island earlier, but he had dismissed it in his rage. His observation haki had atrophied over so many years, but as soon as he activated it he could tell the people standing in front of him were monsters.
“Shishishi, Shanks never told me anything! He didn’t even tell me who he sailed with, or that he was an Emperor.” Luffy smiled, “Old Man Rayleigh did tell me how much of a scaredy-cat you were though.”
Buggy paled. “You know Rayleigh?!” He exclaimed.
To his surprise, Shanks’ chosen successor looked confused.
“I mean I learned haki from him, but it also hasn’t happened yet. Does that mean I haven’t talked to him?” The boys face began to turn red as tried to think harder. “Agghh this is confusing, stop trying to make me think so hard! I came here to find Nami and kick your ass for Chouchou. I don’t care who you know, all I care is that I’m gonna beat you up.”
With that declaration, Luffy wound his fist back. With a cry of “Gum-gum Jet Pistol,” he swung hard and fast at Buggy. As his fist flew, a black sheen began to spread over it. Seeing the powerful strike incoming, the red nosed pirate split apart, barely dodging in time to feel the air displaced by Luffy’s arm.
Buggy turned to his subordinates only to see a pile of unconscious bodies. The Pirate Hunter and the damned Cat Burglar stood tall over the heavy hitters of the Buggy Pirates. The Beast Tamer and The Acrobat had both been beaten in a matter of seconds.
Unfortunately for Buggy, this momentary distraction was all the time Luffy needed to win. As the former cabin boy of the Roger Pirates looked back as his opponent, he realized his mistake. Yelling “Gum-Gum Bazooka,” Luffy had delivered the final blow necessary to send him flying.
As Buggy flew through the air he only had one thought on his mind:
‘Damn you Shanks, you red-haired bastard.’
Unbeknownst to him, Buggy would wake up on an unfamiliar island hours later. He would spend a few days avoiding Marines as he made his way back to his crew. However, during this journey he would find his way onto a garishly pink ship, one that was home to another pirate who both feared and resented the power that was Monkey D. Luffy.
In the present moment in Orange Town however, the future King of the Pirates gave no thought to either of the enemies he had steamrolled through. He turned to his crewmates, opening his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything, he was interrupted by a crowd that had formed from the commotion.
“Who are you? Are you the ones who defeated the pirates?” The apparent leader of the crowd stepped forward. Clad in the same makeshift armor as before, the mayor of Orange Town moved towards the Straw Hats.
“Uh, yeah? We kicked their asses ‘cause they hurt Chouchou.” Luffy’s reply was disinterested. He finished what he wanted to do, why should he have to explain it?
The mayor turned to him, and with out warning, bowed heavily in deference.
“Thank you! Thanks to you the pirate scourge on our town is over! Can we please know the name of our saviors?”
“I’m Monkey D. Luffy, and I’m going to be King of the Pirates!”
Much to Nami’s chagrin, Luffy had answered as he always did. And just like the first time, his answer had immediately turned the townspeople’s ire against them.
“Of course you said that Captain.” Exasperation was dripping from her words, but the fondness in her voice couldn’t be completely hidden.
“Whelp, this was gonna happen sooner or later, might as well head out now.” Zoro grinned.
Luffy’s laugh echoed off the nearby buildings as he grabbed Nami and Zoro and began to run towards the docks. The surprised cry of the townsfolk mixed with the yelling of the Straw Hats as the mob began to make chase. The Mayor tried to stop his people so they could sort out the issue, but he had no success.
“Hey old guy,” Luffy called to the mayor. “Your treasure is by Chouchou’s home. Make sure his treasure stays safe!”
The mayor and the crowd both stopped in their confusion. A pirate just gave up treasure. Gave it up for a dog of all things. He appeared out of nowhere, saved them from occupation, and return their stolen goods. It seemed almost insane given their previous experience with pirates.
Using the time generated by their confusion, Nami, Zoro, and Luffy were able to reach their stolen boat and kick off. Setting a course towards Syrup Village, the first three Straw Hats went on to find their next crewmates.
They had to find their sniper, and their friend they had to say goodbye to long ago.
The thankful cries of the residents of Orange Town flew over the water to reach the trio. Luffy simply laughed and waved back to them. He had found another member of his crew and helped someone he had before. Nothing great had changed to him yet. Only time would tell how his adventure would pan out in the future.