Chapter Text
Luffy had been happy. He had achieved his dream, finding Raftel (otherwise known as Laugh Tale, Luffy thought he liked that name better) and claiming the pirate king title that came with it, and he was helping his Nakama achieve theirs. They were on the way to an island where Robin thought she would be able to find another Poneglyph when Sabo had stopped by. As far as Luffy was concerned, nearly everything in his life was going perfectly. Even if he still woke up in the middle of the night with nightmares of Ace's blood on his hands because he was helpless and too weak too weak TOO WEAK.
When the marine ships attacked, Luffy went to take care of it. He didn't recognize these marines, but he hoped for a good fight. It had been a while since he'd been in a good fight against a marine. Maybe he should seek out Coby when he found the chance. The pink-haired boy who had been a cowardly cabin boy for a weak east blue pirate all those years ago was now a Vice Admiral, having taken over Garp's place after the old geezer had retired. It had come as a shock to everyone when the Former Vice Admiral had retired, but the shock wore off when Garp had proclaimed himself a bounty hunter and starting turning in pirates left and right for the marines to arrest. While Luffy toyed with the captain, realizing that he was pretty weak, he heard a loud explosion behind him. Turning his head he saw the Thousand Sunny...
... And she was glowing in flames.
NO NO NO! Luffy was going to fling himself off of the marine ship when he looked down at his arm. While he was distracted (by his burning ship, His burning family) the marine bastard had cuffed him to the ship. With Seastone. This absolute bastard. Luffy was going to kill him, but the marine wisely danced out of his reach, probably the only wise choice he'd made all day. Unable to stop himself, Luffy let loose a wave of Conquerers Haki, effectively knocking out all the marines on board. He turned his attention towards his wrist restraint and pulled, snapping off the piece of railing connected to the cuff and desperately looking for a way to free himself from the stupid handcuff that was preventing him from rescuing his Nakama, to watching more of his loved ones die just like ace He was still TOO WEAK-
The Thousand Sunny Exploded in a glow of yellows and orange and light and the great pirate king fell to his knees.
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It took two years for Luffy to give up searching. He scoured every nearby island with Observation Haki and by hand three times over, and probably would have kept doing it if he hadn't found a waterlogged tophat on the shore, a heart-wrenchingly familiar pair of goggles cracked yet still secured around the brim. He picked the sandy hat and held it close to his chest and accepted that the impossible his worst nightmare had come to pass. Tears broke down the carefully constructed guards the pirate king had built up on the hopes that his miracle Nakama had somehow survived. He could almost hear his brothers and the rest of his crew teasing him for being a crybaby, hearing the voices that he would never hear again.
Zoro, Who wasn't yet the greatest swordsman, who hadn't fulfilled his promise yet, who still needed to challenge Mihawk and show the rest of the world the wonders of three-sword-style.
Nami, Who hadn't completed her world map, who had plenty of people left to scam and plenty of islands to explore and map.
Usopp, Who had proven he was a brave warrior of the sea to everyone but himself, who had plenty of lies to spread and stories to tell.
Sanji, Who needed to find the All Blue and cook a seafood feast of any fish he wanted, who had women to flirt with and enemies to kick.
Chopper, Who needed to find a cure for every disease, who needed to heal others and still hadn't truly grown up.
Robin, Who needed to find the mystery of the Void Century and tell the world of the secrets being kept, who truly wanted to live.
Franky, Who needed to repair the Sunny whenever Luffy broke it being careless, who hand genius and ideas to share with the rest of the world.
Brook, Who needed to beg Laboon for forgiveness, who needed to make terrible skeleton jokes and sing songs.
Jinbe, Who needed to bring peace between humans and fishmen, who Luffy needed to steer the ship and could always rely on for good advice.
Sabo, Who needed to overthrow the government, who needed to overcome his past and blood and learn how to truly be free.
Ace, Who needed to learn to love himself, who had had his whole life ahead of him before he'd died for Luffy.
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It was a sunny day at the straw hat funeral, not a cloud in the sky. Luffy had found a small island and made his friends gravestones, his grandpa helping him organize the whole thing. It was a day that Luffy would never forget, yet could never truly remember.
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One year after the funeral, Dawn Island was destroyed in a buster call. Luffy grieved again, for he had never said goodbye to his family there, never even paid off his treasure tab.
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It was another year later when the small boat of the pirate king, only big enough for one and looking battered was caught in a storm. The Pirate King, unbothered slept on, unaware of the storm that was coming and how it would change his life