Updated Chapter 2!
As always I do not own One Piece, and no Devil fruit will ever make that happen.
(Zoro POV)
"Uhhh… How much did I drink last night? Usually I don't get any form of hangover; must have been some strong booze." The swordsman said, before noticing two things were different. "Why is my voice so high!? And… did Chopper somehow fix my eye?" It was then that he saw he was in a vaguely familiar forest. He looked down, realizing his three katana were missing. "Wait…" he began to remember. "Was Luffy really able to do it? Am I really back in time?" He decided he would look around a bit. After stumbling around in the forest for a few hours, he finally heard the noise of boken hitting boken. "The Dojo!" he exclaimed. "Can I actually see Kuina again?" he thought, running towards the noises.
All across the seas, many others woke up in similar situations.
(Nami POV)
"Nami… time to wake up?" I familiar voice said, shaking the orange haired girl.
Said girl slowly opened her eyes, instantly taking in her surroundings. "I'm home?" she thought. Continuing to look around, she noticed the presence of a woman with a fuchsia Mohawk. "Bellmere?" she asked, starting to tear up.
"Nami dear… What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the tears of her adoptive daughter.
"Nothing." She responded, while internally she was rejoicing. "That lovable idiot actually did it. He sent us back in time!"
"Nami, why don't you get ready? Nojiko and I were thinking about spending the day on the beach." Bellmere said with a smile.
"Ok."
(Sanji POV)
"Where am I?" the blond cook asked, looking around the dock. "Nami? Robin? Rebecca? Carrot? Idiots?"
"Watch it kid!" a gruff voice yelled as the person went by, a large crate on his shoulder.
"Kid? …Did that rubber moron actually do it? I shouldn't be surprised at this point, but managing to send us back… Wait…" Sanji then took a look around, noticing the passenger ship loading up in the port. He paled, realizing that ship was the one that would lead to him meeting Zeff. He sighed, wishing he had a cigarette before heading toward the boat. It was his best chance at meeting everyone again. Even if he had to endure starvation on that rock with Zeff again, it was worth it to see his nakama once more.
(Usopp POV)
Usopp woke up. He was already aware he was sent back in time, due to his mother waking him up. Although he was happy about seeing his mother again, he knew there was no way to prevent the disease that would eventually take her life. "I swear Luffy, I won't be as cowardly as I was last time." He thought, getting up to go see his old pirate base and hopefully introduce himself to Kaya.
(Chopper POV)
"Ok, now I just need to make sure the Doctor and I meet so I can once again study medicine." The human reindeer thought, using his walk point to quickly traverse the snow. "Though I still don't know enough to cure him… Should I even try to cure him? His death inspired the doctors of this country, Doctorine, and myself. He said it himself, he lived a marvelous life."
After another few minutes of silence and internal debate, Chopper came to a halt. The blue nosed reindeer silently began to cry, having made his choice, not proud of the fact that the one he wanted to help the most was the one he couldn't save. With arguably his most difficult decision yet having been made, he shifted into his heavy point and headed for the village, knowing very well what he needed to do.
(Robin POV)
Robin woke up in the brig of a ship. "Apparently I'm a prisoner at this point in time." She stated calmly. "No matter, it isn't like I got to choose at what point I was sent back too, I'll simply escape and head for the Grand Line. I do need to get those Eternal poses for Nami, and maybe I can help prevent some of the disaster in Alabasta this time. It is incredible a paramecia type Devil fruit that affects the body is capable of this though. Perhaps I should thank Luffy when I see him, as this situation does give me a chance to correct some of my past mistakes." She then proceeded to use her power to snatch the keys, subdue the crew, and sail the ship, beginning to head for the Grand Line.
(Franky POV)
"Man, I must've partied SUPER hard. Hope the Sunny wasn't damaged to bad; we sometimes get carried away." He groggily said, getting off his bed. Looking around, he noticed he was in an old ship bay, more specifically the one he grew up in. "So Luffy was actually able to do it. Vegapunk may be a master of machines, but even he couldn't travel through time." He began to think. "Maybe this time the Franky family will go straight, dismantling ships that are irreparable and recycling the wood. Of course I'll need some dough if I'm going to build a more SUPER Thousand Sunny, and bounties are the easiest way to do it." Obviously he was stuck between two difficult choices. Finally he came to a conclusion. "I don't see any reason we can't do both. Let the pirates spend money on a new ship, then capture anyone with a bounty, and dismantle the ship depending on the number of crew members left. Easy, and it profits both myself and the city." He then adopted a more serious face. "First things first though, I need to go talk to Iceburg." With that last thought he went out, heading for the dockyard.
(Rebecca POV)
The Spartan woman, or rather, future Spartan woman easily woke up in her father's home. While she wasn't use to being a child again, she accepted it, knowing what the future was to hold, and was happy to see her mother once again. She had roughly a year before Doflamingo and his terrible crew came and began their take over. "I need to protect my home, but I need to send Luffy the eternal pose. He said the crew was to meet in eight years at the Party's Bar on Dawn Island, so I'll send it there, along with a note." She told herself before going to find her father, she decided to go ahead and start on her training, with some help.
(Law POV)
Somewhere in the North Blue, a certain Surgeon awoke with a massive headache. "Damn, what did Luffy do? I never wake up feeling like this unless we either sparred, or he dragged me into one of his parties." It was several minutes before his headache went down enough for him to actually remember what happened. "Oh… right. Well I'd better start looking for my old crew, how else am I going to practice my Devil fruit powers." He said, smiling cruelly.
(Carrot POV)
Waking up on Zou was something Carrot personally enjoyed. She would wake up, meet with her friend Wanda, and they would either spar or play, alternating each day. Today however, Carrot didn't really want to leave her bed. "Oh Luffy, a picnic on the beach, just for the two of us?" she mumbled, still fast asleep.
"CARROT! GET UP!" someone yelled. The bunny girl shot up, looking around. She realized she was back on Zou and that the person calling her was her best friend.
"Wanda! Don't scare me like that!" she whined.
"Sorry, but you wouldn't get up." The dog mink apologized. "Who's Luffy by the way? You kept mumbling that name in your sleep."
Carrot blushed. "I'm… not sure how to answer that." This caused the older mink to smirk.
"Ohhh, does someone have a crush?" She asked. At a blank stare, Wanda decided to tease her a bit. "Well if he's got your attention, then maybe I should meet him."
"WANDA!" The bunny mink yelled, hoping to draw away from that certain conversation, She remembered how much Wanda like Luffy after meeting him in the future, and she didn't want any competition. The dog mink just laughed as the two went to get on with their day. Of course Carrot was amazed that she had really gone back in time, and hoped everyone else had as well.
(Yamato)
The daughter of Kaido knew exactly where she woke up, in the dungeon her father called a fortress on Onigashima. Fortunately, she knew exactly how to escape. She broke her cuffs and stealthily headed to her hideaway to retrieve her mask, kanabo, and her former most prized possession, Oden's logbook. She looked at it sadly for a moment. Now that she knew Oden's children were alive, she no longer needed to be Oden for the people to have hope. She had already made her plan, she would break out of this place, head to Wano's mainland, and help the people there. She felt a pain in her chest when she thought of all the children who lost their parents due to Orochi and her father, but this lead to another thought. "I wonder if one day Luffy and I could have children of our own…" She blinked. "Where did that thought come from." She looked out the window she made for herself, overlooking the sea. "Why am I thinking about Luffy like that?"
(Jinbe POV)
Jinbe awoke in his home on Fishman Island. At first he was alert, thinking he had been separated from his crew, that was until he remembered the battle, the loss, and eventually traveling back in time. He went over to the table, where a newspaper was sitting. "Pirate Empress Newest Warlord" He read. "I remember this day, the Sun Pirates returned to Fishman Island to plan our next move… our next slaver raid." He began to think. "Luffy was actually able to do it? No matter I need to contact Shanks and get him to help Brook. I can join Tiger later, my Nakama comes first." He began to head out, preparing to leave for the Sabaody Archipelago, the current location of the Red Hair Pirates.
After leaving Fishman Island, Jinbe was hurrying towards the surface, hoping to catch up to the Emperor. It wasn't long before he reached the giant roots of the Hustle Muscle Mangrove trees, and noticed plenty of ships docked around them. It took a while for the fishman to find the one he was looking for.
Jumping up on the deck, Jinbe was met with both swords and guns pointed in his direction. "What is a fishman doing on the ship of an Emperor?" a tall, long haired man asked. Jinbe recognized him as Benn Beckman, Shanks' first mate.
"I do not wish to fight; I have a request of your Captain." He answered.
"And what is this request?" Ben asked.
"Men, lower your weapons!" A voice called. Out of the door to the cabin came a man with tomato red hair. "He is a guest, and I would like to hear what he has to say."
"Thank you Red Hair. I heard you were heading to the East Blue." Jinbe stated.
"That's true, but why do you care?" Shanks asked.
"I have a friend trapped in the Florian Triangle, who needs help reaching the East Blue. I would help him myself, but I have obligations to my crew that I can't abandon." The fishman stated.
"Alright, come inside and give me the details, because anyone who makes it that far in the Grand Line can't simply need directions." Shanks said, bringing a smile to the Warlords face.
"Luffy was right, Shanks is a kind man."
(Marco POV)
Marco woke up like he did every morning on the Moby Dick, angry at Thatch. It seemed the pompadour chef never realized Marco was not a morning person. He already accepted he went back in time, due to his regenerative powers preventing any sort of headache or confusion, but waking up due to a paint bomb painting him pink was enough to piss him off. He left his room to search for the prankster chef, but he never forgot what his mission was, to keep an eye on Blackbeard, at least until he left the ship.
"There better be a good reason I can't stop that bastard Luffy yoi."
(Brook POV)
Being a living skeleton sucked sometimes. Brook could see everything that happened. Once the Sunny passed through the portal everything around them disappeared. It was an endless black tunnel for a short while before a bright light appeared in front of them. He saw his crewmates one by one disappear before he landed on the ship he called hell for years. He only took comfort in knowing that the others knew where he was, and that they would soon come for him, perhaps not defeating Moria, but at least getting him to the East Blue. There he will rejoin his Captain and shortly after, fulfill his promise to Laboon. "I sure hope it doesn't take too long for Red Hair-san to get here." He said, before pulling out his violin.
Three weeks past until the day Brook was waiting for arrived. The Red force had ended up passing his ship, due to the Captain sensing his presence. Jumping down to the ship, he immediately jumped back, avoiding the sword strike from a random pirate.
"Wait! Friendly! Friendly!" He screamed.
"Brook?" Jinbe said, leaving the cabin. He had sailed with the Red Haired Pirates since Sabaody.
"Ah, Jinbe, glad you could make it." Brook said. Another man, who Brook presumed was Shanks, followed Jinbe out of the cabin.
"So this is the friend that needed help. You never mentioned he was a skeleton. How is that anyway?" Shanks asked.
"I ate the Revive Revive fruit, so once I died; I was able to return from the afterlife. Unfortunately my first crew had perished with me and our ship was set adrift. By the time I found my body, only my bones and Afro remained." Brook explained. "My name is Brook, what's yours?" the skeleton introduced.
"Shanks, Captain of the Red Haired Pirates. Now Brook, Jinbe has explained you're situation w, and we'll be happy to help." Shanks responded.
Brook nearly broke into tears of joy. "Thank you very much Shanks. Oh, and when you eventually return to the Grand Line, tell Crocus an old friend is on his way to fulfil a promise."
Shank's thought it was an odd request, but agreed anyway. He then ordered his men to set sail for the East Blue. Jinbe took this as his que to head back to Fishman Island, as his captain was probably wondering where he was.
(Luffy POV)
Waking up in a bar was something most seven year olds never experience. Monkey D. Luffy was not like most seven year olds. "Uhhhh… Sanji, make me breakfast." He moaned. After several more moans of hunger, Luffy decided he would go get some food himself.
As he descended the stairs he heard a feminine voice speak. "Good morning Luffy, would you like some pancakes?"
"Morning Makino… Wait? MAKINO!? How'd you get on my ship?" Luffy asked.
"Did you have that pirate dream again?" The barmaid asked, laughing. Unfortunately she was being ignored, as Luffy had begun to think.
"Something weird is going on. Where's my crew? Why am I back on Dawn Island? Last thing I remember is… ohhhhh. I traveled back in time." He realized.
"Luffy?" Makino asked.
"Sorry Makino, I zoned out. Yes I would love some pancakes." And with that, the future pirate king sat down and began eating. "So now I just need to wait for Shanks to show up. Most of my crew will meet me in a few years, but I'll be pretty busy. I wonder if Brook will come with Shanks?" and thus, a train of thought that would be derailed within an hour began.
Two months later, Luffy finally saw the Red Force pull into the port of Fushia Village. Luffy was of course running towards the large ship, eager to see one of his nakama, and get his treasure once again. Nearing the port, he began to notice less and less people around, until he was right by the pirates. Standing over the crowd of pirates was a familiar, afro-sporting skeleton. "Brook!" Luffy cheered.
"Luffy!" Brook also cheered. Shanks and the rest of his crew were confused as to how this skeleton they recently traveled with knew this child.
"How do you two know each other?" Ben asked.
Luffy just laughed before he answered. "Tell ya later, I want to talk with my friend here." Shanks, while curious, decided not to pry. Instead he asked where he and his crew could get something to eat, which Luffy directed them to Party's Bar.
Makino was terrified, not because of the pirates in her bar, but because of the Living skeleton asking for her panties. Luckily Shanks kicked him into a wall for asking his new crush such a question, all the while Luffy just laughed. Seeing how terrified the woman was, Brook offered to play a song, just to help alleviate the mood. He had a few pirates go grab his piano and set it up in the bar. After a heartfelt rendition of Bink's Brew everyone was in high spirits.
Over the next nine months, Shanks and his crew went on a few voyages around the East Blue. Brook had become a rather popular musician in the village, but was always hanging around Luffy. Makino had some trouble getting use to a skeleton living in her guest room, but he made up for it by drawing people into her bar, as well as generally lightening the mood whenever he played.
Finally the day Luffy ate his Devil fruit came, it had been weird having the memories of using his fruit without actually having his rubber body. "So Luffy, despite showing how brave you were by stabbing yourself under the eye." Shanks deadpanned. "I can't take you with me on my voyage. How about you tell me how you and the skeleton know each other, we've been asking for months."
"Alright Shanks, the truth is, Brook and I are from the future. I had my own pirate crew and Brook was our musician." Luffy said.
"I'm sorry Anchor, but that is completely unbelievable." Shanks laughed. Brook looked over from where he was sitting, on the other side of Luffy.
"It's true Shanks; Luffy was the one to rescue me in the first timeline. It's also the reason Jinbe and I know each other." Brook added. Upon hearing this, the usually drunk captain decided to believe them. He had grown close enough to the two to know Luffy wasn't a very good liar, and Brook was never dishonest in the first place. The rest of the crew followed.
"You mean Luffy managed to recruit a Fishman!?" Ben asked, he and the rest of the crew had shocked looks on their faces.
"Well, I met Jinbe in Impel Down, right before we broke out. Of course he just lost his Warlord title so…."
Shanks was blown away. "Hold up…" He pointed at Luffy. "You…" He drew it out for a second. "managed to break into the world's most secure prison, met Jinbe, an apparent Warlord, and escaped?"
Luffy gave the older man a strange look. "Well... I've met all the Warlords at one point or another. That's not the point though; I had to recue my brother. Didn't really work though, since I ended up in that war at Marineford." This just shocked the emperor more.
"Luffy, how big was your crew?" he asked, thinking it was a massive crew on par with Whitebeard.
"I had a relatively small crew, about fifteen people, so we typically got into trouble." Luffy said.
"You made it through Paradise and met all the Warlords with only fifteen people!" Shanks yelled, wondering how strong Luffy's crew actually was.
"Actually I was the last one before Sabaody, and I was the ninth member of the crew. The other members of the main crew joined in the New World." Brook said. Shanks just went slack-jawed, vowing to never get on this kids bad side. He did take note of how Brook said "main crew" so he put together that Luffy must have had subordinate crews.
"Well these are pirates? Pathetic." A gruff voice said from the doorway. There standing was a rather shaggy looking man followed by a bunch of similarly dressed thugs. The man in front was looking around.
"Who's that Luffy?" Brook asked, not knowing much about his young captain's life before setting out.
Before the boy could answer the shaggy man spotted him. "What's this, what kind of freaky costume are you wearing? Actually, never mind, I don't care. Hey wench, give me and my men ten barrels of sake."
Makino looked at the man with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I just ran out."
"Then what are these pirates drinking? Tap water?" the man mocked.
"I'm sorry, it looks like me and my crew drank the last of it." Shanks said before taking the bottle and bringing it closer to the group. "Feel free to have this as an apology." Luffy took this time to re-eat the Gum Gum Fruit and Brook just watched in fascination.
The man took his sword and broke the bottle, spilling sake all over the floor and counter. "Do you know who I am? I am Higuma the Bear, a mountain bandit with a bounty of eight million. One bottle won't be enough to quench my or my men's thirst."
"Sorry Makino, there's sake all over the place." Shanks apologized to the barmaid, grabbing a rag to help clean.
"It's alright Shanks."
The bandit was irritated at the blatant disregard of his presence. "You like to clean, then clean this!" he shouted, swinging his sword toward the counter. His swing was blocked however, by a thin, straight blade.
Looking at the swords wielder, Higuma saw the same skeleton 'costumed' man from earlier, preventing the counter from being hacked. "Now that is rude. This man offers you some of his sake and you waste it, mocking him for treating this place with a decent amount of respect. People like you make me sick." Brook said.
The bandit scoffed. "Whatever." Then he and his lackeys left, returning to whatever crappy base they had.
With the bandits gone, Shanks turned to Brook. "Thanks for the help, though it wasn't necessary." He said.
"I didn't do it for you. He was trying to damage Makino's bar, something that would have cost quite a bit for her to fix. I did it because I am a gentleman." Brook answered.
Shanks began to laugh, that is until he saw the chest sitting on the counter. With a panicked expression he ran over and checked its contents, discovering the missing fruit. "What happened to the Devil fruit?!"
Luffy laughed. "I ate it."
Shanks turned to the boy, quickly grabbing his legs and shaking him upside down. "Spit it out! Do you know what you just ate?!"
"The Gum-Gum fruit." He said, acting like it wasn't a big deal. "I ate it the last time too, even awakened it. Can you stop shaking me now?" He asked, his legs having stretched, causing his head to hit the floor.
Shanks paused. "Oh right. I forgot you guys said you were from the future. Mind telling me the whole story?" And so the two time travelers did, telling the story well into the evening.
Two weeks past. Luffy was sitting in Party's Bar with Makino. Brook had run over to Goa earlier that day upon hearing the news of a new music store, one which could custom make an electric guitar. He had gathered a bit of money performing both in the streets and private parties; even a few of the more wealthy residents of Goa had personally requested he play. Shanks and his crew had left Fushia over a week ago, going on yet on another journey on the relatively calm sea.
"No pirates today, huh?" A voice asked. Luffy looked over towards the door of the bar, seeing the stupid mountain bandits from before.
"Welcome gentlemen. What can I do for you?" Makino politely greeted, walking over to take the groups order.
"Some food and sake. Then perhaps you and I could go somewhere more private." Higuma said.
"I'm sorry, but I will have to decline." The barmaid responded.
As she turned away, the bandit leader grabbed her arm, forcibly keeping her in place. "Listen bitch, I wasn't asking. Now get our food, and then well get started. Forget privacy now, I'll let my entire band have some fun with you." Makino was visibly shaking now.
"Hey assholes! Leave her alone!" Luffy yelled, angry at what this bastard was implying.
"And what are you going to do brat? I see you don't have that costumed freak, or those pirates to protect you." Higuma mocked.
"I don't need Brook, or Shanks to deal with you!" The young boy proclaimed. While it was normally true, Luffy hadn't regained full control of his haki, nor had he built up his strength to what it was in the future.
"Oh yeah, then why don't you prove it!" the bandit shouted.
This led to Luffy being dragged to the village fountain, where the bandit leader began beating him, two of his lackeys holding the child down. Makino, of course had gone to get the mayor, and the two had just arrived on the scene, a crowd already having formed. "Let the child go! We'll give you money, supplies, anything you want." The old man offered.
"Forget it! This kid opened his mouth and now he has to pay. Though his body sure is strange, perhaps I could sell him to some noble as a plaything." Higuma cruelly suggested.
"I wondered why no one came to greet us at the docks." A voice said. The crowd split, revealing Shanks and his crew. "What happened Luffy? I thought you were stronger than some low-bounty thug." Shanks mocked.
"I am Shanks, but they outnumbered me, and I'm still not use to this body." Luffy complained. While the civilians, excluding Makino, thought he was referring to his devil fruit, Shanks knew he was talking about his younger body. "Besides, while I'm glad you came to help, there's no need; my backup's already arrived." The boy smirked.
At this, everyone was confused, none more so than the bandit leader. "Backup? Where?" he said, looking around.
"Three Verse Humming…" a voice said. Suddenly, Brook showed up in the middle of the bandits, his sword drawn. Taken by surprise, several of the bandits went to attack the sudden entity. "… Arrow Knot Slash!"
Once again, everyone was surprised when all of Higuma's lackeys were suddenly cut up and knocked out. "So fast! I didn't see him move! I thought he was just a musician!" Several random people exclaimed.
Higuma began to panic. "Wh… Wha… What are you?"
Brook simply ignored the man, choosing to address his captain instead. "Are you ok Luffy? I was only gone for a couple of hours. Looks like you got into quite a conundrum."
"I'm fine Brook, and I wouldn't be in this situation if that bastard didn't try to force himself on Makino." Luffy said.
Shanks and Brook both became angry. "HE. DID. WHAT!?" they both yelled, rage evident on their faces.
"Said his men could have a turn as well." Luffy added, now everyone was pissed at the bandit.
The bandit leader knew he was screwed. His men were down; he was up against a brat, a freaky skeleton, an entire pirate crew and he obviously wouldn't survive the fight. Seeing no other choice, the coward grabbed the nearest person, the kid he was beating on a couple of minutes ago, and through down a smoke bomb. Blinded and coughing, no one saw the bandit flee. Once the smoke cleared, Shanks and Brook were shocked. "LUFFY!" they yelled worriedly.
In a small boat off the village's coat, Higuma had Luffy in his hands, dangling over the water. "No one would expect a mountain bandit to escape to the sea. Now die brat!" he said, letting go. Once Luffy hit the water, a massive shape rose above the water's surface. The water broke, revealing the Lord of the Coast, who proceeded to eat Higuma and the boat he was standing on.
Having finished his snack, the Lord of the Coast turned towards the child who struggling to stay above the water. Rushing towards its new target, the beast prepared to strike. As it was about to gobble up what it presumed was an easy meal, it felt a chill. Holding its food was a bigger human with red hair. It was Shanks, but that was unknown to the creature. "Get out of here." The pirate said, his voice laced with conquerors haki. The beast, for once feeling like prey instead of predator, fled, taking the red haired human's arm.
"Luffy, are you alright?" He asked.
Luffy however, was distraught. He had hoped Shanks wouldn't lose his arm this time. "Don't worry about me! Your arm Shanks, your arm!" he cried.
"An arm isn't worth your life Luffy. I'll be fine." With that, the pirate captain dragged the boy back to the village.
A few days later, Shanks and his men were preparing to set out. Luffy, Brook, and Makino had gone to see him off. "So you're finally heading back to the new world?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah, we've been using this village as our base for a little too long now. The marine won't take too kindly to our presence." Shanks said.
"How about we meet again in the New World, and have a fight to see which one of us is stronger?" Luffy said.
"I accept your challenge Luffy, just prepare to lose. I won't go easy on you." The captain responded.
"As the future Pirate King, I can't lose." Luffy stated.
"If that's the case, then why don't you hang on to this." Shanks said, taking off the straw hat he wore, and handed it to the boy. "Return that to me when we meet again, until then, take good care of it."
Luffy looked at the straw hat in his hands. "I will Shanks, I promise."
"Good." He said before turning towards his crew. "Alright men, load up the ship and to set sail!"
"Roger captain!" A chorus of pirates responded.
Luffy then had an idea. "Hey Shanks. Would you mind if I got your transponder snail's number?"
The Emperor turned to look at the boy. "That shouldn't be a problem." He said, pulling out two pieces of paper. He wrote a number on one and handed both to Luffy. "Here you go; I'm also giving you my vivre card, so when you reach the new world there won't be any problem finding us."
With final goodbyes, the Red Haired pirates left for the New World.
The next few months were quiet. Luffy had begun re-training his haki, and already was able to knock several large beasts out at once. His armament and observation haki had also been brought up to about half of what it had been after the two year training. Brook had helped Luffy increase his speed, and had begun training his own haki, something he hadn't done much before time traveling. It was now nearing one year since the Strawhat Pirates had come to this time, and Luffy was looking forward to this day, as his grandfather Monkey D Garp would be coming to take him to Dadan, and better yet, his brothers.
Sitting in the empty Party Bar with Brook and Makino, Luffy sensed a rather strong presence approaching, knowing just who it belonged to. "Luffy, get out here!" the straw-hatted boy heard, recognizing the voice of his grandfather. Said man then proceeded to bust through the wall. "Here you are Luffy, you're coming with me. I can't let you stay here, who knows what other pirates will come and corrupt you like Red Hair did."
"Shanks didn't corrupt me, he saved my life. Besides, we both know I can't become a marine." Luffy argued.
Garp was shocked. "What are you talking about?" he asked, while on the inside he was thinking something else. "Does he know who his father is?"
The young boy argued with himself, debating whether or not he should tell his Grandfather he was from the future. In the end, he decided he couldn't risk it, as the man standing before him was almost as bad a liar as he was, on top of not being able to keep a secret. "I don't know why, I just feel as if the higher ups will hate me, even though I never did anything to them." He stated.
"Luffy… I'm sorry you feel that way, and I want what's best for you, but you are becoming a marine, so come with me." Garp said firmly.
Luffy did as Garp said, putting up no fight, as he was too excited to see Ace again. While walking through the forest Luffy decided now would be the time to ask what he wanted to ask. "Hey Gramps, marines are strong right? I heard there were these six awesome powers that they know. Can you teach me them?"
"You want to learn the six powers?" the old man asked.
"Yes, even if I don't become a marine, they would still be useful when I'm trying to protect those I care about." The child said.
Garp just sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if you took more after your mother than your father, and while you have his idiotic dislike of marines, you also have your mother's sense of morality. I'll teach you the powers, but there's someone I want to introduce you too." Luffy cheered.
Like Luffy remembered, Garp took him to Dadan's place where he met Ace, and had begun following him whenever he could. Garp had promised to train him, but needed a month so he could get a proper period of time he could dedicate to his Grandson. In this time Luffy had met Sabo, befriended Ace, and had become brothers with the two. He had also gotten Brook to take care of the Bluejam Pirates, whose treasure was split, giving half to Ace and Sabo for their ship, and the other half to the people in grey terminal.
When Garp returned, he was surprised at how well Luffy and Ace were getting along, along with the appearance of Sabo, who he happily welcomed to the family upon Luffy's explanation, and begun the threes training. Garp had convinced Sengoku to give him three months off to train his grandson, but he was shocked at how much Luffy was able to learn, only having to go over the basics of each technique before the rubber child had enough of an understanding to practice. Ace and Sabo, while not exactly as fast of learners as Luffy, were still able to become novices in the six powers at the end of the three months.
Once his three months off were over, Garp tearfully left his Grandsons, biological and adopted, accepting that they'll never be Marines, as no matter what, he was unable to convince them. With Garp gone, the trio of brothers began their real training. Luffy had introduced them to Makino and Brook, but he never explained he and Brook were from the future. This lead to the same events from the first time, except Sabo's parents had hired a more capable crew to abduct his blond brother. Sabo's abduction, the fire of Grey Terminal, and the supposed 'death of Sabo all happened like he remembered. All of it drove Luffy and Ace to train harder until Ace left on his seventeenth birthday.
Eight years since the Straw hats travelled through time, it was finally time for the designated crewmembers to meet at the Party bar. Four ships docked at Fushia village, each one containing at least one of the Strawhats. On one of the small boats sat a male and a female, the female berating the male. "I cannot believe that in eight years, you have yet to improve your sense of direction!" the Female yelled. "I'm serious Zoro; I don't want to have to drag you everywhere because you lack all directional sense!" They had been arguing ever since she had picked the swordsman up after seeing him sailing in the complete opposite direction.
Roronoa Zoro seemed like an average swordsman at first glance, if you ignored the aura he gave off and the three swords by his side.
"For your information Nami, I always end up where I need to, what's the point of knowing the direction when the destination is always the same!?" Zoro stupidly asked, causing the orange haired girl to visibly cringe.
Four figures approached, one of them began to yell. "Oi Marimo! Stop yelling at Nami-chan. We got to meet Luffy."
"What did you say dartboard brow?!" Zoro yelled.
Nami however looked at the rest of the group. "Usopp! Carrot! Glad to see you!" She said.
"Umm… Carrot, who are these people?" The fourth figure answered. She was not seen by Nami, as she had hidden behind the corner of a building, not trusting these strangers.
"Don't worry Wanda, they're my friends. I promise if you follow us, everything will be explained." The bunny mink said. Wanda trusted her judgement and agreed to follow.
The group walked up to Party's Bar, none of them looked to different from before they time traveled, with the exception of a couple of scars. Usopp had the biggest change, as he was more muscular that he was when he first met Luffy. Zoro entered the bar first, then Nami, followed by Usopp and Sanji, with the two minks bringing up the rear. "Guy's!" a voice yelled, welcoming the group. It was Luffy, standing in the middle of the room, Brook sitting at the bar, four boxes set near him.
"Luffy!" Carrot yelled, the eleven year old enveloped the rubber teen in a normally bone crushing hug and nibbled his ear, much to Sanji's dismay.
Wanda watched the exchange as the boy laughed. "This is Luffy. He's rather cute, for a lesser Mink." She thought.
Luffy stopped laughing when he noticed Wanda. Turning to Carrot, who had stopped her nibbling, he asked. "Does she know?"
"Not yet. I wasn't sure how to explain it." Carrot said meekly.
Nami heard this and sighed. "I should have known, you two were always close when we went to Zou."
Wanda was confused. "You've been to Zou? When?" She asked.
"We're from the future, so we technically haven't been yet." Brook said.
"It was a surprising capability of the Gum Gum fruits awakened power." Zoro said. The gathered Strawhats then spent the next couple of hours telling the dog mink everything that happened.
"So Luffy, are those from Marco?" Usopp asked, pointing to the boxes. The three boxes were from someone named Phoenix, a pseudonym Marco would use to send objects from the Grand Line that the crew would need.
"Yep, he was able to get everything you and Nami needed. And look, Rebecca sent us an eternal pose for Dressrosa. Same with Yamato and Wano!" Luffy said.
Nami went over and took the poses, setting them far away from the destructive teen, before opening one of the boxes. "Alright, now that I've got some weather eggs, I just need my climatat."
"These pop greens and dials will also help me in combat!" Usopp cheered.
Luffy just let them go through their 'new' toys before he asked the question on his mind. "So… what have the rest of you been up too?" Luffy asked.
Nami spoke first. "Six years ago Arlong came to Cocoyashi. I made the same deal as last time, one hundred million beri for my village's freedom, but I added the condition that I pay for my family's survival. I'm at about seventy million now, but I know he won't try to take it. I should get close enough to the goal in about two years. As for training, I haven't been able to unlock my haki, nor could I work with my climatat." She thought for a moment. "Other than that, I did receive a letter from Jinbe. He apologized for letting Arlong once again take over Cocoyashi, but with Fisher Tiger retiring, Queen Otohime's assassination attempt, and his position as Warlord, he couldn't stop Arlong from leaving the Sun Pirates. What's worse is that Arlong has more officers than before, though I have yet to meet them, as they've been off in the Grandline on some orders of Arlong's." Luffy just nodded as she talked.
Zoro went next. "I met up with a friend of mine from the dojo, my greatest rival. Despite my knowledge from the future, we still tied five hundred times before I beat her. Her father's told her she can't become a swordsman since she's a girl, so she gave me Wado Ichimonji. I asked her if she wanted to join me in my bounty hunts, but she wanted to train some more. She is open to the idea of joining a crew, and has recently moved to Shells town. I also ran into Johnny and Yosaku, but they're still roaming around, I just don't know where. I have been able to restore both types of haki to what they were at before."
The rest of the group, except Wanda told what they've been doing. Usopp was keeping an eye on Kuro, as he couldn't outright attack him, mixed with some training. He had been hanging around Kaya a bit more and had trained his observational haki back to what it was at before. Sanji had stayed working at the Baratie, and was technically supposed to be getting groceries at the moment, like Usopp, he had restored his observational haki. Carrot was the last to go; she had, with Wanda's help, become slightly stronger and had better control over Electro. Luffy was proud of how far his crew had come. "Now that we know where we're at strength wise, next thing we need to discuss are possible recruits." Luffy said. He had spent some time at the library, mostly because Makino was horrified when he told her he never really had a plan when he traveled.
"As I said, my friend is open to the idea of joining a crew. Her name is Kuina and she wants to become a world renowned swordswoman. She focuses more on speed based attacks than strength, so I think she would benefit from Yubashiri's light weight." Zoro stated. "Johnny and Yosaku might also be willing to join if we run into them again."
"My sister and mother love life on Cocoyashi, but with how the government will become, I'm afraid of them being targeted." Nami said.
"The only people I can think of are Gin and Alvida. Problem is, Gin is loyal to Kreig, and Alvida will be allied to Buggy, though it seemed like a loose alliance at best." Sanji said. "Beyond that, there aren't many people in the GrandLine I can think of that are strong, willing to join a crew, and were on good terms with us."
Carrot simply pointed at Wanda. "Since Wanda is already here, she's joining, but I think our some of our friends back on Zou might be willing to join when we get there."
Usopp thought for a moment. "A strategist would help, but I don't want Kuro on the crew, and I don't think Kaya will like having the life of a pirate. So I have no clue as to who we should try to recruit." Brook was the same, having no idea of who could join the crew.
"So a strategist isn't a bad idea Usopp." Nami said. "Kuro is the best strategist we know, but I agree that he isn't exactly someone we can trust."
The Strawhats talked for a while longer before those from the East Blue had to leave. Nami back to her home in Cocoyashi, Usopp to Gecko Island, Sanji to the Baratie, and Zoro to Shells town.
Not too different. Added Yamato (who I'm adding to the Harem, there's just no tag for her yet), and removed the whole Brook is missing his shadow point (looked at the timeline, Brook only lost his shadow about 5 years prior to series beginning, plus it means I can actually have Zoro earn Shusui again).