115Welcome to my first One Piece story! Wooooo
Ok, fair warning, the pacing for these first two chapters will be fast like incredibly so, but this is because I want to get through the mostly canon stuff quickly. I skipped to Alabasta because the only difference in this story before was that Luffy didn't have a devil fruit.
If you're wondering why I'm changing his fruit, well think about this. A gum gum luffy story that follows canon would be a rehash of the manga and if thats what you want then read the actual manga, it is far superior than anything on this site. That being said i wanted to change things by putting even more chaos into an already chaotic world. Anyway, any other story like this even a little has long since been abandoned and likely never left the east blue. Seriously why don't people skip the east blue if it's going to be the same? We know about Coby and Alvida I mean damn if ya aint changing it don't spend a chapter on it!
Also some heads up:
I'm going to be using the english translation for most things like devil fruits, Flame Flame fruit rather than Mera Mera no mi. I kinda find it easier to type in my native tongue rather than having to remember all the Japanese names of devil fruits. Even if I do remember them. But other things I'll keep the original names since it sounds better, Yonko rather than four emperors.
Sorry to all you weebs out there that need the Japanese but honestly if thats a deal breaker I don't know what to tell you.
Also this is AU i will be changing things, starts slow then gets more drastic as it goes.
I don't have any plans for pairings at the moment, I kinda like Oda's concept of no romancing the straw hats. For all you Luffy Nami shippers, don't hold your breath, I doubt Oda will ever pair two straw hats together.
The country of Alabasta grew in size as the Going Merry sailed closer and closer. The temperature began to rise as they came within range of the summer island's climate. The time of year meant that the island was experiencing its spring time, but being a summer island meant that it was still going to be hot.
"Luffy! We're going to dock! Come down and put on these clothes that Vivi got for us!" Called Nami from ship's deck.
The Straw Hat captain jumped from the front of the ship and landed on the deck.
In front of him his crew were all dressed in typical Alabasta garb: tunics, robes and thin cloth to cover but not to retain heat. Chopper still had his hat, Zoro had his swords and Sanji was smoking and like them Luffy changed out of his clothes and into the robes but kept his straw hat on, only wrapping it in a cloth to hide its straw make up. It would take a hell of a lot more than needing to blend in for Luffy to part with his treasure.
"So we need to get into town and get supplies before we make our way to Alubarna. it'll take ten days to cross the desert and we can't be caught without food and water or we'll die." Warned Vivi making sure that even the most simple minded of her new friends understood the circumstances.
Luffy nodded, "Sanji! Make sure to get some good meat for the road! I'm gonna head off to get some lunch." He called out before diving off the boat into the water.
The crew watched with sweat drops as their captain swam to shore at a furious pace that any of them would be hard pressed to match. Before any of them could complete their thought and consider going after him he was already ashore and running off to find a place to eat.
"He didn't take any money." Commented Nami getting a sigh out of everyone else.
Luffy wandered through the town trying to find a place to eat. He saw a few stands but none of the food smelt particularly good or were all vegetarian. Luffy didn't want vegetables, he wanted meat! At the end of the town there was a bar that had a large crowd gathered around the entrance and the smell of food came from it making Luffy start to drool.
"Ah, finally somewhere to eat. Wonder why there's a crowd around this place? Maybe the food is extra good?" Luffy picked up speed his mouth drooling at the thought.
Inside of the restaurant a young man was face first in his food while the surrounding people were trying to figure out what to do with him. He had barged in ordering a mountain of food and entertaining the other customers with his wild personality and crazy stories. Only to suddenly pass out in the middle of a sentence and fall face first into his food.
"We should get him out of here, he's just another tourist who was claimed by the desert." Said one man with a grimace. "Not the first and certainly not the last."
"What if he has friends? What if he's a pirate!? His crew might attack us if they think we killed him!" Shouted another frantically trying to make sure everyone knew the ramifications of dealing with a pirate.
Before anyone else could say something the door burst open and a madly grinning teenage appeared in the door way with a mad expression salivating while he looked around the restaurant.
"Oi, Oi, get me some food. I'll take one of everything you got!" Shouted Luffy from his seat at the bar shocking the people in the bar at his speed.
As the bartender hurried off to get the order in, the young man previously thought to be dead stirred from his sleep. He yawed loudly and continued to eat even though he was still half asleep. The others in the restaurant shouted out in shock making him fully wake up and turn to them.
"What are you guys yelling about?" He asked with a mouth full of food.
"We thought you died!" Came everyone's response.
The man shook his head, "Nah, sometimes I fall asleep it's—" the man fell asleep once more in the middle of his sentence.
Everyone in the restaurant now knowing what was wrong all screamed at him to wake up with others getting tired of the stupidity of the situation and left the restaurant entirely. The only person not shocked or angry was Luffy who was grinning at the turn of event.
"Shishishi! Ace! Long time no see!" He exclaimed while slapping the sleeping Ace on the back waking him up.
Ace, now awake once more, turned and grinned widely. "Luffy you're here! I see you got my message!"
"Message?"
"Never mind, doesn't matter." Muttered Ace shaking his head. "What brings you to Alaba—"
"Straw-Hat!" A Furious shout came from the door way making all the heads turn to the source.
In the doorway stood a man in a Marine Captain's uniform. He had two cigars sticking out of his mouth and a Jutte in his hands as he glared at Luffy with hate filled determination. He would have continued on to attack his target but the man sitting next to him caught his attention. It was a far bigger fish.
"Portgas D. Ace." He muttered out in barely noticeable shock before shaking his head.
The marine turned back to his original target fully intending on forgetting that the Whitebeard Pirate's Second Division Commander was sitting in front of him and not in the new world where he should be. A commander in the Whitebeard Pirates was a bit about his pay grade so he was going to tactically ignore him to focus on Straw Hat. While his bounty of 30 million was far lower he was far more assured in his victory.
Luffy frowned at the sight of the man from his time in Lougetown, remembering their last confrontation, the Straw-Hat pirate knew that he had no way of harming or even hitting him. Luffy had plenty of experience fighting Logia users thanks to his brother Ace having the flame-flame fruit, but that didn't mean he had a way of beating them.
No matter how many times he begged his grandpa, the old man wouldn't tell him how he could always hit Ace. All Luffy got from fighting Ace was burns and defeat. His brother was always stronger even before he ate the fruit and after he was simply unbeatable.
The only option Luffy could think of was to tactically retreat. He had no weapon or way to hit him but he did have surprise and he knew that was the only way he could hit Ace back in the day was when he caught him off guard so he didn't turn into his element making him vulnerable. Luffy took a breath and gripped the bar tightly then spun around and threw the entire bar at the Marine food and all.
The Marine was taken completely off guard by the absurd method of attack and was knocked away. The inhabitants of the restaurant started to silently leave to get away from the battle.
Ace blinked at his brother's attack before shaking his head. He needed to go back his brother up before that guy caught up to him. He saw the Marine get hit but then turn into smoke meaning he was a logia. He knew better than anyone that Luffy didn't have Haki so he was basically defenseless.
The rest of the crew met up at the edge of the town with two camels and plenty of supplies, only thing left was to wait for their captain to show up.
Zoro finished polishing his last sword before a thoughtful expression came on his face. "Did anyone tell Luffy that we were going to meet up here at this time?"
Silence fell over the crew as realization dawned on them.
'The idiot ran off before we could!' They all shouted before standing up.
"I think we should split up to find Luffy, this town isn't that big so it shouldn't be too hard to find him." Said Sanji while looking around his immediate area.
Vivi nodded, "This town isn't large, it shouldn't take too long to find him, especially since all of the restaurants are in the same general area. I think—"
"Hey Guys!" Shouted Luffy as he ran towards them, with an entire group of marines behind him. "We gotta go! That Smoker guy followed us here!"
The crew shouted at him to lead them away but Luffy ignored them as he kept running in their direction shouting at them to get moving.
"That idiot! Get back to the ship!" Ordered Nami as she ran off leaving everyone behind getting sweat drops from some of the crew. Ussop grabbed some bags and followed his fellow weaklings example and high tailed it out of there.
"Let's go!" Shouted Sanji as he slapped both of the camels getting them to run.
Luffy sighed in relief as he saw his crew start moving out but was forced to duck as a smoke propelled fist came flying at him. Instinctively Luffy grabbed the fist only for his hands to pass right through getting a frustrated groan out of him. Logia's really were annoying.
Knowing it was useless Luffy jumped out of the smoke and turned a corner that led out of the town. He could hear Smoker shouting at his subordinates before Luffy found himself completely surrounded by smoke. In the area in front of him the Jutte emerged from the smoke followed by Smoker's face.
"End of the line." The cigar smoking Marine growled out victoriously.
Throwing caution to the wind Luffy charge his opponent with everything he had, throwing powerful punches and kicks all having no effect.
Smoker absorbed a punch before slamming his Jutte down on the Luffy's head. The Marine followed with a kick to the ribs and another slam from the Jutte to the back. Luffy took the pain without even a grimace, he was used to far worse and restarted his onslaught. It continued like this for several minutes before a wall of flame slammed into the side of the smoky prison.
"Luffy! Get out of here! I'll catch up!" Shouted Ace in a half fire and half human form as he smirked confidently at the marine.
Smoker was starring back at him quite angry that his target was slowing getting away once again. This time thanks to the interference of someone who shouldn't even be in this part of the world. First the most wanted man in the world, then a commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, just who was Monkey D. Luffy?
Not having to be told twice Luffy ran off to where he remembered his crew was going to dock the ship.
"Why?" Growled Smoker. Readying his Jutte, the Seastone in the tip would come in handy in this fight.
Ace's smirk stretched further, "You think I'm gonna let you capture my little brother?"
Smokers eyes widened before he was forced to send out a wall of smoke to meet the flame that came at him from his opponent.
"Why don't you just leave? A fight between the two of us won't end you know? Flame and Smoke don't mix well." Called Ace still smirking.
This time the marine didn't respond, only readying his Jutte then charged back into battle.
From the deck of the Going Merry the crew could see a column of smoke and fire rise from the edge of the town. The tower of flame and smoke rose into the clouds as screams from the town were heard. The normal members of the Straw-Hats- Ussop and Nami, were getting more and more nervous as the fight picked up in intensity.
"What's going on?" Usopp asked fearfully.
Sanji narrowed his eyes as he took a long drag from his cigarette. "Someone's fighting that Smoker guy from Lougetown. They must have some sort of Fire fruit."
Sanji knew about Devil Fruits, he had heard the stories of the Grand Line from Zeff and from...well he's heard and seen enough in his life before joining the crew. But he was still ignorant to the true variety of fruits that existed in the world. A fruit that turned you into smoke was crazy and now there seemed to be a fruit for fire. Zeff was right- the Grand Line defied Logic.
"I hope Luffy's ok." Chopper said while perched atop Zoro's head.
"Yeah I'm ok." A voice said from behind them.
The Crew turned to the new person and saw Luffy crouched on the side of the Going Merry while looking at the fight still going on in the distance.
"Luffy! How'd you get away from the smoke monster!?" Chopper shouted in shock.
Luffy grinned at the small reindeer, "My big brother Ace showed up to hold him off."
This caused Zoro to squint at his captain. A brother? That wasn't the surprise, no everyone has some family out there. But the name Ace, and the person fighting Smoker had the abilities of fire. Ace and fire... Oh! Nope he couldn't remember.
"Wow! Your brother must be really strong!" Usopp said excitedly.
"Oh yeah, he's got a logia fruit like Smoker but his is way cooler. Or hotter I should say Shishishishi." Laughed Luffy as another explosion rang out from the fight back on the island before the smoke and fire disappeared completely signaling the end of the fight.
"I hope your brother's alright." Commented Nami.
She didn't know much about those weird fruits but she knew that Smoker was a monster and didn't want Luffy's family hurt by him. She heard from Luffy himself that he was caught dead to rights by the Marine in Lougetown, she knew that a normal human couldn't hope to beat Luffy, she saw him pummel Arlong like he was nothing.
Luffy just chuckled before looking at Vivi, "So where to next? We need to get to your dad right?"
The princess nodded. "Yes, I sent Carue ahead with a note for my father to warn him about Baroque Works. But we can take the Merry around the river to cut down on the walk to Alubarna."
"Should we wait for your brother?" Asked Sanji.
Luffy frowned in thought. "He said we'd meet up later so I think we should start moving out."
Nami started yelling out orders- Usopp, Sanji and Chopper all immediately started following her commands.
While the crew were doing what they pleased Luffy sat on his perch in thought.
'I need to get stronger. Against Devil Fruit users like Paramecia and Zoan I think I could manage by continuing to build my strength and speed with weights and training like Zoro. But Logia's are different, as I am now I can't lay a finger on them. Gramps doesn't have a devil fruit but he can fight with the best of them, so there has to be a trick. But what would really help? A devil fruit of my own?'
Luffy still remembered the day Ace ate his.
The fire was finally out. The grey terminal burned for days. But finally, through the efforts of many and two days of rain the fire was officially out.
Luffy hadn't moved from his spot at the top of the hill for hours. Ace was off salvaging the grey terminal remains and likely burning off frustration.
They both lost a brother.
Thinking of Sabo made tears form in Luffy's eyes again. He'd been crying off and on ever since he's heard the news of his brothers death at the hands of the Celestial Dragons. Dadan didn't bother either of the mourning brothers and would silently bring them food. He'd heard that she sent word to gramps but he doubted the old man would show up for a few more weeks.
"Luffy." Ace's voice broke him from his thoughts.
The older brother winced at Luffy's red eyes and sat down next to him.
"I'm gonna get stronger Ace. I'm gonna get so much stronger that I can beat everyone, so that nobody I love ever has to die. That's a promise, I swear it." Said Luffy quietly but full of determination.
"Me too." Replied Ace before taking out a small bag and opening it to reveal a strange red fruit. Luffy looked on curiously.
"Sabo used to talk about these, he said that all of the most powerful pirates have one. They are called devil fruits, they give power in exchange for the ability to swim." Explained Ace. "I found it in a destroyed part of the grey terminal, everything around it was ash but this was fine, I recognized it as a Devil Fruit from the pictures that Sabo showed me."
Without another word Ace took a bite from the fruit chewing once before swallowing. Luffy's wide eyes watched on wondering what was going to happen.
"Ugh! That was disgusting!" Shouted Ace while coughing making Luffy snicker.
Luffy leaned forward excitedly, "How do you feel?"
Ace stared at his hands curiously before tilting his head. "I feel…warm." Flexing his hands experimentally Ace narrowed his eyes.
Suddenly both hands caught fire, "Ah!" Screamed Ace and Luffy in shock.
Luffy ran off to get some water but was stopped by Ace. "Wait Luffy it doesn't hurt. The fire, I'm not being burnt." Ace's voice held a surprised tone to it before he grinned and more fire exploded out of his hands.
"Awesome!" Howled Luffy watching his brothers new power with awe.
While he and Ace were happy about his new found power, Garp showed up two weeks later and beat the both of them up for their recklessness in confronting a pirate gang on their own. Garp then explained about Devil Fruits and told Ace that he was now a Fire man.
The Vice-Admiral spent a solid three months in Goa after learning that Ace found a logia in the East blue of all places. He had his subordinates search Goa and the surrounding Islands for devil fruits while training him and Ace even harder in the time being. Luffy had managed to get much stronger thanks to his grandfathers relentless training and trying to keep up with Ace.
Ace learned how to turn on and off his abilities quite fast, spars became pointless since Luffy was incapable of hitting him unless Ace let him. When Luffy learned that Ace had become an anchor in the water he went to Makino and had her teach him to swim properly. It had taken a while but he managed. It came in handy too when Ace, momentarily forgetting that he couldn't swim anymore, jumped into the ocean to try and catch a fish.
It was the first time Luffy saved Ace, something he never let his older brother forget.
"Oi! Luffy!" Came the familiar call of Ace from the water as he sped up on a small one man boat that was sailing despite the sail being rolled up.
Luffy grinned and called out for someone to toss out a rope for his brother.
The crew gathered around the deck to meet Luffy's brother.
The Fire man jumped up to the railing and shot a grin to the crew. "Hello, I'm Portgas D. Ace. Thank you for looking out for my little brother. I'm sure he's caused a lot of trouble." Greeted Ace kindly.
Luffy laughed at his crew's reaction and listened to their comments about how Ace couldn't possibly be related to him because of his manners. He smirked when Nami and Vivi commented about how attractive Ace was.
His brother always got girls to like him. He didn't understand nor did he really care but it was always funny to watch them fawn over him. Even better was Sanji who was frozen solid after hearing the girls comments.
"So where are you guys headed. Since you all didn't get my message in Drum island you came here on your own volition." Inquired Ace while nodding to Sanji who handed him a drink as they settled on the deck.
Luffy step forward. "We're here to help Vivi, she's the princess of this kingdom that is being manipulated and overrun by the Baroque Works to take over the kingdom and over throw the nobles." Explained Luffy getting shocked looks from his crew and brother.
The Straw hat Captain tilted his head in confusion. "What?"
Ace put his hand against his forehead and blinked. "You don't have a fever, thats strange." He muttered quietly getting more shocked looks.
"Of course I don't have a fever."
Everyone ignored Luffy's comment and moved on. "Well he about summed it up." Said Nami. Behind them Luffy threw his arms up in annoyance before getting another drink.
Ace nodded. "Well, just so you know a man named Crocodile is here. He's a warlord and possesses the Sand Sand fruit, it's a logia like mine and Smoker's. So be careful if you run into him, without Haki I doubt you all would survive a confrontation with him at this point." He warned before sipping his drink.
'Haki?' The Straw Hat Crew wondered mentally.
Luffy jumped forward and grabbed Ace. "This Hachi stuff, is that what gramps would use to beat you up?!" Shouted Luffy finally learning the secret.
"It's Haki not Hachi," Said Ace. "And Yes, unless you run into a logia or a Warlord I doubt you have to worry about it until the New World. But I'm surprised Garp didn't tell you about it, he told me after I ate my fruit. He said it was the only thing that could harm me other than another fruit."
"That sounds useful how do we learn it." Said Zoro finally taking part in the conversation.
Ace scratched the back of his head in thought. "Haki is the spirit of a person being utilized into physical or mental abilities. There is Armament Haki which is an invisible armor that when used can drastically increase your defensive or offensive power, also, it can be imbued into weapons. Armament Haki is also the only way to physically harm a logia or damage devil fruit users that can avoid or negate damage entirely. Next is Observation Haki, as it sounds it is about increasing your awareness of the world, with this you can sense the world around you and anticipate and react to attacks that you wouldn't be able to otherwise. Last is Conquerors Haki, this can't be awakened, you have to be born with it. With it you can utilize your own ambition to affect the world around you, those with weak wills will be knocked unconscious under the pressure. Haki can be awakened under extreme levels of training or highly stressful life or death situations." Ace sighed after he finished his explanation.
Luffy had his eyes closed in thought. If he could awaken this Haki stuff then there wouldn't be anyone who he couldn't hit. While he was sure that he wouldn't be unstoppable considering all of the strongest pirates likely have it themselves. But Smoker wouldn't be untouchable anymore and he would knock that stupid Cigar out of stupid his mouth.
Zoro finally understood what Mihawk said back at the Baratie, 'Find your true swords and master you spirit…' He was giving him a hint to become stronger all along. Zoro smirked when he thought about what Ace said, extreme levels of training were his bread and butter after all.
Usopp finally saw a way for a normal human like him to contend in this crazy sea. While Sanji nodded absentmindedly, he'd heard this speech from that man a long time ago. Nami and Vivi were shocked to learn such a thing existed while Chopper had stars in his eyes at the thought of seeing the future.
Ace decided to travel with them until Alubarna as he had some business there. While walking he told them some of the stories of his time as a captain of the Spade Pirates and finally his meeting with Whitebeard. Luffy was shocked that his brother would follow another captain, he asked Ace to join his crew all the time as kids. Ace would always say that he wouldn't ever follow someone else's orders and that he wanted to be a free man not a subordinate.
Ace even asked them if they wanted to join the Whitebeard pirates saying that he trusted his brothers judgement in picking a strong crew and that his pops wouldn't mind having them. He received a resounding no from all of the Straw Hats making him slightly surprised at the loyalty they had to his brother but smiled now knowing his brother was in good hands.
It was the final night before they reached Alubarna and only Ace and Luffy were still awake sitting around a campfire as everyone slept.
"Ace, I want to get strong." Started Luffy. "I know I'm not weak or anything but that Smoker guy got me in Lougetown and if it wasn't for something weird happening at the time I would be in prison right now or dead. I want to eat a devil fruit, I want to master Haki."
Ace smiled into the flames and rubbed his right thigh where a scar was. The last scar he ever received, the night of the terminal fire, the night Sabo died. He knew about wanting to get strong and he only felt even more need now that he had over a thousand new family members that he'd fight to the death for and a father that he'd give everything to stay with.
"I get it Luffy, but I can't help you. I don't have another fruit, not that I've ever tried looking for one since I have my own and you got to awaken Haki on your own like I said. But what I can give you is advice. No matter how powerful you become or how strong you think you are, there are always five people ten times stronger than the last. I've seen some crazy powerful people that could do things we've never dreamed possible. There are a lot of people far stronger than me out there." Said Ace as he stared into the fire.
Luffy was shocked at his brother's words, he never thought he would hear those words especially from someone like Ace. But that only meant that the words were true, and Luffy felt even more determination. His crew were his new family and people like Smoker wanted to take them from him, no, he wouldn't let that happen.
The night ended and the rest of the crew woke to continue on their journey. After hours of walking they finally made to Alubarna. The crew splintered off to get their tasks done.
Ace left to ask around for his target- a man named Teach. While Vivi was speaking to some of the people still loyal to her and her family, she trying to learn the state of things. Luffy and the crew stocked up on supplies for their trek into the desert.
The group met up once again and Ace let out a sigh. "I need to move on, I can't linger in Alabasta with Teach on the move. It's time we part ways Luffy."
Sad that he was leaving Luffy still grinned at his brother. "I guess we'll catch up later Ace. Good luck with that Teach guy. Next time we meet I'll be much stronger!"
After saying their goodbyes Vivi had them move on towards their goal. After having spoke with an old man named Toto in a deserted village she learned that it was Crocodile, the Warlord in the Country who was the one behind the war. Apparently the old man witnessed the warlord slaughtering a group of rebels then blaming it on Vivi's father then repeating the process in another village only killing royal soldiers and blaming it on the rebels.
She knew that Crocodile was the one behind Baroque Works but it was just now that she was learning the true depths of his schemes. The only issue was that she couldn't find out what his goal was for Alabasta, there were many countries out there that he could take over. Why Alabasta? What did they have that he wanted.
'Or rather', she thought grimly, 'What did he know they had?'
Nami was the one to say the most obvious reason for his being in Alabasta. "He has the sand fruit right, that's what Ace said right? If I had a sand fruit I would want to be in the desert."
The Straw Hats couldn't disagree while the Monster trio grunted grimly. This meant that Crocodile was going to be an even bigger pain in the ass than a logia already was. Luffy was more serious than any one had seen him as he stared off into the desert while thinking about his future confrontation with the Warlord.
Vivi changed the subject and got them a Moving Crab to traverse the desert to the capital far faster than walking would have been. The large crab was bigger than most small boats and allowed all of them plus their supplies to fit atop of it.
Chopper laughed as he talked with the crab while everyone relaxed as they rode towards Alubarna. Vivi had been quiet ever since the old man told them that their village used to be an oasis but the rain stopped a few weeks ago turning it into a deserted wasteland.
From atop the Moving Crab the riders saw that a sudden sand storm picked up and began moving toward the former oasis. Vivi screamed for them to go back to save Toto but Luffy told her grimly that they wouldn't make it in time as the storm had already hit.
Unfortunately, her scream was loud enough for it to be heard by another occupant of the desert not too far from them. Vivi felt something snag her waste and saw a large golden hook grab her and screamed in shock before being grabbed by Luffy. The hook was being controlled by sand, simple as Luffy was he knew what that meant, he grabbed the hook and with a determined look on his face and turned to his crew.
"We'll meet up in Alubarna! I'll take care of Crocodile!" Luffy shouted as he was carried off by the hook.
"Luffy!" Shouted Vivi in concern before yelling at the Straw Hats to turn around to help him. But she was stopped by Zoro who laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Chopper lets go, Luffy will handle this." Ordered Zoro with a frown as the Moving Crab shot forward to continue the journey. Vivi looked ready to say something but was interrupted by Nami.
"Zoro's right Vivi, we've got to continue moving forward. Despite not having a devil fruit we've seen him rip apart opponents easily that humans never should be able to. We should be more worried about his opponent." Nami said, confident in her captain.
Calming down, Vivi nodded and turned towards the sunset, tomorrow marked the beginning of the war if their info was right. Meaning they had to be ready and focused so that she could stop all the unnecessary bloodshed.
The others were worried about their captain but focused on their mission, doubting Luffy was stupid. When their captain was at a disadvantage was when he was at his most deadly.
Luffy stood confidently in front of his two opponents. One was a large man, far larger than a normal man with a black and grey suit and a large coat slung over his shoulders. His face had a large scar and he was smoking a cigar while lazily staring at Luffy, as if a bug had landed in front of him. The other was a women dressed like a cowgirl, she had an amused look on her face but didn't seem too interested in the coming confrontation.
"Straw Hat Luffy, the one to constantly attack my forces." Said Crocodile with a bored monotone.
"Crocodile," Growled Luffy, his muscles flexing dangerously, his eye colorless and ready to attack.
"Nico Robin, Go on ahead and take this with you," He said tossing a small box toward the women. "We're going to get an incredible amount of money from the Marines for it. I'll only need a few minutes to deal with this one. Make sure the plan continues as expected the millions already know what to do."
Nico Robin caught the box and looked inside, surprise showed on her face before she nodded. "Very well, I'll head to Alubarna." She said before walking off.
Crocodile turned back to Luffy only to come face to face with a fist. As the powerful punch came into contact with the Warlord, sand exploded outwards. Luffy felt dread fill his stomach as he remembered Ace's warning that Crocodile was a Logia.
Not backing down, the Straw Hat captain continued his assault, relentlessly attacking with countless punches and kicks toward the Warlord.
The leader of Baroque Works sighed as his body reformed. Had this boy possessed Haki this fight would be difficult as the brat possessed impressive skill in hand to hand combat. But life wasn't fair and he felt it was time to teach the brat that lesson.
"This technique is called Desert Spada." Crocodile said before turning his arm into sand and stabbing it into the desert.
A wave of sand was sent at Luffy at high speeds, Luffy avoided the attack but felt dread when he saw the attack destroy a large bolder like it was nothing and continue on into the desert. Luffy spun around to see several more coming at him and moved as fast as he could to avoid the attacks. Luckily the attacks only moved in a straight line making it easier to avoid. But that didn't lower the danger as Luffy was sure that a single attack would pose an end to him.
The attacks ended and Luffy knew that he had to go back on the offense.
As Luffy prepared another punch he was blasted by a wave of sand sending him away coughing up a small amount of blood. Crocodile raised his hook and pointed at Luffy, the golden hook shot forward hitting the teen with a large amount of force breaking at least two ribs.
Grunting in pain Luffy stood once more, breathing harshly as his lung was hurt by the hit. But he didn't care, he was going to win or die trying.
Crocodile sighed as he saw determination fill the Straw Hat's form. "You can't win Straw Hat, someone like you, with weak will. Your punches will never reach me. I'm going to kill you, then your crew then the rest of the fools in this country. Now just lay down and die!" He roared as he sent a sand blade at the young captain.
Luffy felt pure rage fill him at the Warlord's words. The sound of metal filled his ears for an instant as he threw out another punch. Predictably, the punch passed right through the Warlord getting another annoyed sigh from the man as he reformed his face.
Luffy jumped back but was forced to drop to the ground as the hook flew at him once more.
"Is this it? Is this all you have, is this the power you confronted me with so confidently? How pathetic, you don't deserve to be a captain. This next attack, the last one you'll ever receive, is called Barján." Drawled Crocodile lamely as the hook reattached to his arm and another sand blade form in his hand but this time he swung outward in a wide arch.
Luffy raised his arm to block the attack but the instant the attack hit Luffy's right arm it dried up and withered away looking almost dead. Luffy grabbed his arm in pain and withheld the scream of pain that was about to leave his lips.
"The attack known as Barján drains whatever it hits of all moister." Explained Crocodile while staring at the drained appendage dispassionately.
Hearing the word moister Luffy took out his canteen and poured water on his arm desperately hoping that it would be enough to keep him in the fight. Thankfully his arm quickly returned to normal under the stream of water. Crocodile looked at the arm with aggravation and sent several more sand waves at Luffy who kept dodging the attacks and trying to close distance but was getting pushed back and knocked around.
The already impressive rage in Luffy grew twice as large and the sounds of metal in his ear grew louder. Straw Hat Luffy charged in once more, clenching his fist like his grandpa did countless times before then he jumped into the air.
Lazily, the Warlord looked at Luffy as he flew towards him, letting out a breath he readied his hook to finish the fight.
"You said you were going to kill my crew and slaughter this countries people! I'll finish you here and now!" Roared Luffy.
Thinking of his grandfather's signature attack Luffy concentrated as he threw out his very own right handed punch with enough power to shatter steel.
His fist hit Crocodile and to his surprise the power behind the hit as enough for his entire body to explode in sand. Luffy landed on his feet breathing haggardly as he frantically looked around for his opponent.
Sand started to rise in front of him and take shape in the form of his opponent.
"That's right. Princess Vivi, the royal family, your pathetic crew and all those foolish people are going to perish tomorrow during the war. But fortunately for you, you won't have to wait that long, I'm going to finish this right now." Said Crocodile as he shot forward faster than before, half of his body still sand and stabbed his hook outward towards Luffy's chest.
Fearing for his life, feeling rage from his words and anger at his own weakness. Luffy fed all his determination into one last hopeless attack. Luffy shouted then punched with all of his might.
A millisecond before they clashed Luffy's fist took on a black sheen and collided with Crocodile actually managing to push the Warlord back. Shock was written on not only Crocodile's face but also Luffy's as he looked at his fist which appeared to have not changed.
"Huh?" Muttered Luffy before shaking his head, whatever works right?
Crocodile however was looking at the Straw Hat wearing captain with pure hatred. This was the second fight in his entire life that his blow was stopped, not since that bastard Whitebeard, not since the first time he lost a fight, not since his last loss.
"Bastard," Growled Crocodile. "You were holding back you bastard! I'll kill you!" He roared as he rushed the still surprised Luffy.
Luffy tried to recreate the attack but was instead slashed across the chest with the hook getting a cry of pain to escape his lips. Both hands rubbed his new wound as he jumped back to gain distance as blood flowed from his chest.
Unwrapping the cloth around his straw hat Luffy hurriedly wrapped his chest with the cloth to slow the bleeding.
Not caring about his opponents struggle Crocodile rushed back in to attack. Luffy dodged the hook this time and sent out another punch to hopefully give him a second as he reconstructed his body.
Knowing that the boy didn't use Haki this time he went to absorb the hit to further mock his opponent. However, the fist impacted Crocodile's face making him fall back from the impact when he recovered Crocodile's mouth leaked a bit of blood.
Looking at his fist once more realization dawned on Luffy. His fist was covered in blood, a liquid, that attack from earlier drained his arm of all liquid. This meant that Crocodile's fruit weakness had to be its opposite- liquid. Luffy had another realization- not only would Crocodile be stronger in the desert thanks to all the sand but with the extremely dry environment made it so he had less natural weaknesses that he would be around if he was on the sea.
Confidence and determination filled Luffy as he now had a way to fight, he now had a way to win.
Both Warlord and Pirate roared at one another as they charged forward. Luffy, filled with confidence lashed out with a barrage of powerful punches that Croc was forced to either block or dodge. Luffy caught the incoming hook and pulled it forward to off balance his opponent and sent a punch to the back of the man's elbow.
Crocodile grimaced in pain as his left arm broke from the attack. Fury filled his mind as he roared and caused a sand storm to form around him and sent it toward Straw-Hat. Frantically looking for a way to hit Crocodile from a distance, Luffy picked up a small rock and covered it in spit before throwing it with his full power at the Warlord. It nailed the Crocodile in the right eye nearly causing it to burst and moments later the area around his eye was already blackening.
Luffy took his opportunity and charged back in and punched with all his might into Crocodile's chest knocking him back.
"Your life ends here Crocodile!" Shouted Luffy as he rushed back in and tackled the Warlord to the ground. Luffy grimaced as his chest wound took the impact but knew that his blood chest would make contact thanks to all the blood.
Before he could continue his assault Luffy was hit once more by a powerful strike from Crocodile. Blood flew from Luffy's mouth as his felt even more of his ribs snap and his left lung fill with blood. Luffy, pushed onto his back foot was nearly hit by another Desert Spada but barely managed to dodge the attack thanks to his momentum allowing him to flip over the sand blade.
The two pirates continued to wail on one another well into the night never giving the other a chance to breath.
A battle of endurance had just begun in the rapidly freezing deserts of the Alabasta kingdom.
The Straw hat crew managed to arrive in Alubarna in the morning and split up to try and stop the fighting before it could begin. Unfortunately, before the Straw-Hat crew could make it to a populated enough part of the city a rebel was seen firing and killing a loyalist, at the same moment a loyalist fired and killed a rebel. The faux rebellion for the freedom of a country that was unknowingly under siege thanks to the war that just started.
Vivi, in the city square, let out a horrified scream that was drown out by all the fighting.
Zoro, in another part of the capital drew his swords as he saw a large man walk towards him with confidence. Nami, next to him, calmed herself as her opponent broke through a wall to attack her.
"You can do this Nami, I'll take care of this guy." Zoro reassured the navigator before confronting his opponent.
Nami nodded and took out her new weapon, a three section staff that was hollow. She formed it into a staff and took her stance. Usopp told her that this was a weather controlling staff, the clima tact. She would use it to bring down a storm that would wash away the woman in front of her.
Usopp and Chopper were currently engaged with their very own opponents that got in their way on the way to the palace.
Mr. 4 hit another baseball at them as Chopper and Usopp screamed and avoided the deadly projectile. The two Straw hat pirates grit their teeth and continued onward.
"Chopper, I think I can win if you give me a second. I have a new star I want to try." Muttered Usopp to his partner who nodded and put his faith in Usopp.
Pulling back his slingshot that was loaded with his new star Usopp waited for his chance.
Chopper, in his heavy point rushed in to confront Mr. 4. Predictably the dog/baseball launcher released another large baseball. Right as Mr. 4 was about to hit the ball Usopp released his projectile.
Sparks flew off of it before it collided with the baseball with perfect precision. The projectile exploded on contact and the baseball increased the blast sending Mr. 4 flying into the stone wall.
"It worked! Those balls were filled with gun powder thats why they explode. So my blast pellet worked perfectly!" Boasted Usopp proudly getting an awe filled look from the now small Chopper. 'I had no idea they were filled with gun powder, not to mention this was the first time I've tried this pellet.' Usopp thought shakily.
Ignorant of Usopp's thoughts Chopper continued to congratulate Usopp's brilliance.
"Where're you going!" Shouted an aggravated Sanji as Mr. 2 ran off. The Straw Hat cook growled before running back towards the palace to help Vivi. Their fight was intense yet stupid, he couldn't kick Mr. 2 when he turned into Nami but managed to land some decisive blows that caused Mr. 2 to flee. The fight only lasted two minutes with only four attacks being crossed all around wasting Sanji's time.
"Whatever." Grunted Sanji as he lit another cigarette and continued on.
He knew that if that stupid green haired muscle head moron knew that he was put up against such weak opponent Sanji'd never hear the end of it. Bastard was already the first member to join the crew giving him a higher standing, but for some reason Nami treated Zoro like he was as strong as or close to the strength of Luffy! That bastard! How dare he be so close to Nami! She was a million leagues above that stupid swordsman!
Zoro blocked and arm blade and parried a leg blade then tried to slash Mr. One or Daz Bones with an Oni Cutter. Mr. One transformed his stomach into a blade and blocked the attack. Zoro growled dangerously at the deflected attack, he wasn't getting anywhere when his opponent was able to counter all of his attacks thanks to his fruit. He wasn't getting anywhere and he knew from the look on Mr. One's face that he was being looked down on.
Once again Zoro was reminded of Kuina- who would laugh at his weakness, and Mihawk who he was sure could end this in an instant without any effort.
Remembering his Sensei's old words about the breath of all things he calmed himself. Ignoring the pain from his wounds he tuned out Mr. One's words who was likely taunting him for their stalemate.
His old master said that a true swordsmen would only cut what they wanted to, make their blades unable to cut paper but able to slice steel. It was something he needed to learn, it was something he was sure Mihawk knew. Right now his blades weren't fully under his control, meaning that he hadn't managed to master his blade, meaning he was still weak.
Wind picked up around Zoro but he kept breathing slowly, knowing in his heart that this was the moment he swung his sword at a nearby cloth.
Mr. One's eyes narrowed in confusion as the cloth wasn't sliced by the sword, it looked as it it had been hit by a stick rather than a razor sharp blade. Zoro then raised his other arm and swung his sword at a large stone, nothing happened at first but then the stone fell apart with a clean slice through the middle.
Mr. One turned both his arms into blades and rushed forward, Zoro did the same with his eyes shadowed.
In an instant both opponents passed one another, but one fell to the ground with blood spurting out of their chest.
"You were a strong opponent." Said Zoro while sheathing his swords. "I learned a lot from this battle."
Mr. One grunted from the ground. "That was…incredible...maybe next time…you'll cut diamond." Daz Bones praised before passing out from the blood loss.
Zoro smirked as he walked off. Suddenly he was forced to dodge a women who was launched through the air towards him at extreme speeds. Zoro blinked with wide eyes as he turned to the direction the women flew from to see a triumphant Nami happily stroking her knew weapon.
Zoro shook his head and went to go congratulate his fellow Straw-Hat on her first victory.
Nico Robin sat on a chair made of arms as she continued to observe an incredible battle between the Straw Hat Captain Monkey D. Luffy and her 'boss' Crocodile.
She was impressed by the young captain's endurance and determination, not to mention his luck. Not only somehow managing to use a subtle amount of Armament Haki to save his life, Luffy also managed to discover Crocodile's weakness of liquid.
It was that kind of luck that boggled her mind, it was as if fate itself was on the captain's side. She looked down as the box that Crocodile gave her. Mr. One, on his last assignment came across a devil fruit and brought it back, she along with most of the higher ups in the Baroque works already ate Devil fruits so after Crocodile learned which fruit it was contacted the Marines to sell it.
She listened in on the snail call and was shocked that the Marines were willing to pay 900 million beli for the fruit. Something that told her that this fruit should most certainly remain out of the Marines hand's. She'd seen what they were capable of, if they wanted this that badly then she would make sure they could never have it.
She remembered Ohara, she remembered Saul, she remembered Kuzan. She remembered how her life became hell just because she wanted to be with the only people who cared about her- the archaeologists. Only for her knowledge to be considered evil and for her to be branded a criminal. To be sentenced to a cursed life.
No, she wouldn't give the Marines another weapon to use against innocent people who acted against the World Governments interests. She didn't know what kind of fruit it was but it was dark blue with rigid swirls and looked like it was inhabiting an apple.
The fight below raged on as Crocodile, bruised and beaten with only one working arm fought on with Straw Hat Luffy, who was covered in gashes and blood, limping slightly and breathing haggardly.
Maybe… maybe she could give it to the tenacious captain who seemed to have fate on his side.
Luffy spat out blood and took a sip from his canteen that was officially empty with this last gulp. "I think you've had enough Crocodile. I think it's time you fell."
The equally injured Crocodile growled as sand picked up around him. Knowing what to do, Luffy reached into his pocket for another rock and launched it at the Warlord his blood freely flowing on it from his hands making sure that it would damage the Warlord should it hit.
The Warlord wasn't going to fall for that again as he ducked below the rock only to be kicked in the face by Luffy who used the rock as a distraction to close the distance with his impressive speed. Flowing into a barrage of attacks, Luffy hammered into Crocodile with everything he had. All of his strength, determination and will to win flowed out of him as he wailed into the fallen Warlord who was forced to take it as the pain and exhaustion made it impossible to focus his powers.
Luffy raised another fist and like before, his knuckles took on a black sheen that he didn't notice. Crocodile however did and tried to move but was hit with it full force finally knocking him unconscious.
Rolling off his now defeated opponent, Luffy stood victorious. He let out a roar of triumph that even the gods above and devils below could hear as the desert around them let a fierce wind circle the victor.
Before he could collapse he heard someone clap from behind him. The women in the cowboy outfit from before his fight walked up with a smile on her face. Luffy wondered if she was happy that he beat her boss or if she was trying to scare him with that expression.
"Excellent fight Straw-Hat Luffy." She congratulated. "He was a powerful adversary, definitely deserving of his title. Yet somehow you won, a rookie not even a year into the Grand Line. How?" She question while keeping the easy smile on her face.
Luffy blinked at the women, "He wanted to kill my friends, I didn't want him to." Luffy responded deadly serious with his right fist raised.
Robin blinked, surprised at his simple answer but chuckled when she thought about it he seemed like a free spirit but hardly the blood thirsty type. No, she felt that he was similar to the type of pirate that sailed for freedom rather than to conquer. This was the kind of person that she was sure would benefit from the contents of the small box in her arms and not cause her to regret giving it to him.
Luffy readied for a fight as she approached but Robin raised her hand to calm him before handing him the box.
Confused at the gesture Luffy opened the box, he was momentarily confused at the odd color of the apple but was completely starving from his long battle with the Warlord and ate the fruit in one bite. He nearly barfed at the flavor but managed to swallow, his starvation outweighed his need for flavor at the moment, if only just.
It was only after the fowl taste did Luffy realize what he just did, that was a Devil Fruit! He turned to the women who was quietly laughing at the situation, completely understanding the set of events.
"What kind was it?" He asked trying to access his new power.
Robin shrugged. "No idea, I'm not too familiar with the various fruits unique designs to identify it on the pattern but it is a powerful one. The marines were going to buy it for 900 million berry."
Luffy blinked owlishly at the value of the fruit that he was given. Unknown to him as he was trying to feel the fruits power half of his body was starting to freeze over with ice and frost started coming off of him.
Robin's eyes widened as she recognized the fruit she had just given away. It was her savior's, it was the man's who was killed after giving her an escape route off of Ohara.
A nine year old Nico Robin read over a newspaper that she had taken off of a table at the bar she was just in. Her eyes were streaming with tears as she read the paper.
Vice-Admiral Kuzan was killed for committing treason, letting and even helping the Demon child Nico Robin escape after "slaughtering a group of Marines" in the Ohara incident almost a year ago.
"Nico Robin. I don't like the whole Absolute Justice thing. I refuse to kill a small girl because she can read a dead language. Live on Nico Robin, I'll leave a path so that you can escape." Those were the last words she heard from Kuzan before he froze the very ocean around them leaving a path for her to sail through to escape the buster call.
Despite the man having just killed her first and only friend not moments earlier, Nico Robin silently thanked the man for sparing her from the buster call.
She never forgot that day, she never forgot his words. Nor did she forget the words of encouragement that Jaguar D. Saul gave her before he died. The ones telling her that there were people out there that would love her, that would stay by her side, she just had to remain strong until she found them. Those words were the only thing that got her up in the morning after all this time.
Luffy, not knowing about the thoughts going through Robin's mind, continued to try out his new powers.
"The Chilly Chilly Fruit." Said Nico Robin getting Luffy's attention.
"That's the name of the fruit. It's a logia that controls ice, you could freeze the world over with it. You're an Ice man now." She said, informing Luffy of his new ability.
Luffy's eyes widened at that information. He was now like Ace, Crocodile, and Smoker. Luffy knew that this was what he needed to contend in the Grand Line and make sure that he could keep his crew safe. It was his duty as Captain to be the strongest member of his crew and with a fruit like this he was sure that he could fulfill that purpose.
Monkey D. Luffy was now a logia class devil fruit user and he wasn't going to stop getting stronger until he was stronger than Ace…wait…
"AHHHHH! I'LL NEVER BEAT ACE NOW! FIRE MELTS ICE!" Luffy shouted with tears streaming out of his eyes.
Chapter End.
Whew that was fun right? Yes it was. Ok so this is the first chapter and holy cow we nearly finished the Alabasta Arc.
Here are the changes to canon so far.
Ace finds the Flame Flame fruit after the Grey Terminal fire giving him more time with it. Sabo is still 'dead', and Luffy still trained with Ace and Garp during his younger years. Luffy still met Shanks since he has the hat.
Akoiji was killed for letting Robin go, someone saw it, I wonder who? Hmmmm.
Other changes will be revealed as we go on.
With Luffy having a different fruit and awakening his Armament Haki in his determination to survive mark the biggest change. I wasn't going to have him awaken all three types of Haki at once and wreck Croc that would have been dumb. But with no gum gum fruit to help him he was more stressed with the hopeless situation the fight was and only lucked out that he managed to use it, just like with his fight with Mihawk during Marineford.
No rubber means Enel will be difficult. No Rubber means no gears, I'm welcome to suggestions for the chilly chilly fruit. I have several ideas already.
This story will have subtle changes that ripple out. Who has the Gum gum fruit? Who is the Admiral to replace Akoiji? How will the Marines react to a pirate eating one of the logia fruits they were going to buy? Want to know more? Find out next time!
FAVORITE/FOLLOW and PLEASE REVIEW. Feedback is treasured by me to make this story better. Thanks